'Wrong bear' being held on death row over killing of jogger in Italy

Incident has launched debate over dangers posed by bears, which were reintroduced to Trentino region between 1996 and 2004

A court is deciding the fate of JJ4, a 17-year-old brown bear accused of killing a jogger. AFP

A brown bear is being held on death row in Italy in connection with the death of a runner, but animal rights activist says she is innocent.

JJ4, a 17-year-old female brown bear, is accused of killing Andrea Papi as he was running on a woodland path near his village in the northern Trentino region on April 5.

But Italian animal welfare association Leal said the bite marks on the victim show the killer was a male bear.

Echoes of TV detective shows surround the bear’s fate, as supporters plead for JJ4's innocence and the local mayor, who has previously tried to have the bear put down, demands justice.

A court is currently deciding her fate.

Among the documents being examined by the court, which is set to rule on May 24, is a forensic report submitted by the region and drawn up by pathologist Mattia Barbareschi, who was present at the postmortem.

He found bite marks “characterised by a distance between them of about 8cm to 8.5cm, which is the typical distance between the canines of an adult bear”.

Leal said it has presented the court with another forensic report, performed by two veterinary experts who studied Mr Barbareschi's findings.

The report claims the distance between the canines was “typical of an adult male”, not a female.

“We have asked the court to order a specialised veterinary doctor to examine the specimen, to measure her teeth,” Leal's lawyer Aurora Loprete said.

Trentino regional president Maurizio Fugatti ordered the bear be found, captured and put down after traces of its DNA were found at the scene.

JJ4 was captured, taken to an enclosure and separated from her three two-year-old cubs.

Activists soon after issued an appeal against the kill order.

Leal said that finding traces of JJ4's DNA at the scene was not proof that she was the killer.

The killing has launched a debate on the dangers posed by bears, which were reintroduced to the region between 1996 and 2004. There are about 100 of them now in Trentino, according to the province.

Mr Fugatti had ordered JJ4 to be put down in 2020 after two hikers were attacked, but that order was overturned by a court.

JJ4 was fitted with a radio collar instead so she could be tracked, but the battery on the device ran flat and was not replaced.

Animal rights groups say bears normally keep their distance from people and it is up to local authorities to ensure that people are kept away from zones where female bears are raising their cubs.