Authorities ordered to kill wild bear after attack on father and son in Italy

Two men were hospitalised after incident in country’s north, authorities say

A bear attacked two men in the woods in northern Italy earlier this week (iStock)

The head of an Italian province has ordered the killing of a bear that attacked two people in the mountains.

The move has been condemned by Italy‘s environment minister, who called it an “impulsive decision”.

Maurizio Fugatti, the leader of Trentino in country’s north, has signed an order telling officials to search the area of the attack and kill the bear who injured the two people.

A father and son were wounded by the animal on a mountain in the Non Valley the day before.

The 59-year-old and 28-year-old were both hospitalised after the attack on Monte Peller, according to the local authority.

The men bumped into a bear on a path in the Trentino mountains, and then animal then jumped on the son who was walking in front.

The father threw himself against the bear, injuring his leg, according to a statement released by Trentino province.

Sergio Costa, Italy’s minister for the environment, said he has sent a letter to Mr Fugatti over the decision to cull the bear.

He said he wanted to express his “disapproval” of the order which was sent out “within 24 hours of the incident”.

“I think it is an impulsive decision which does not favour studying the context of what happened,” he said, adding it also makes tensions over how people can co-exist with wildlife in mountain areas even worse.

Mr Fugatti, the member of the right wing Lega party, has said there is an estimated 80-90 bears living in the autonomous northern Italian province.

“These numbers call into question whether bears and men can live side by side,” he said.