The Amarena bear, symbol of the Abruzzo National Park, has been killed: the man who fired has been identified

«The bear Amarena was shot dead». The communiqué, posted on Facebook, by the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise begins with these dry and terrible words, which recounts with dismay, anger and despair what happened last night.

«At around 11.00 pm this evening the Orsa Amarena was hit by a shot fired by Mr. LA on the outskirts of San Benedetto dei Marsi, outside the Park and the contiguous area. The Park Guards promptly intervened on the spot, on surveillance service, given the area where Amarena had gone down with her puppies. The Park veterinarian intervened on the spot with the emergency team, who however could only ascertain the death of the bear given the seriousness of the wound».

The person who fired was stopped. “The man was identified by the park rangers and then subjected to the findings by the Carabinieri of the local station, who intervened following the call from the park rangers”.

During the night the surveys were made and the Park staff is working to identify the Amarena puppies taken with her a few days ago. The press release continues. «The episode is a very serious event, which causes enormous damage to the population of about sixty specimens, affecting one of the most prolific females in the history of the Park. Obviously there are no reasons for any reason to justify the episode given that Amarena, although causing damage to agricultural and zootechnical activities, always and in any case compensated by the Park even outside the boundaries of the Contiguous Area, had never created any kind of problem for man».

The director of the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise Luciano Sammarone spoke to theHandle and added details: «We said over and over again “we are a model, Abruzzo is a model”… We are not a model of anything. In front of the murders we hear on the news, the killing of a bear is always nothing compared, but it’s not like that. Let’s ask ourselves how many illegal chicken coops there are in the area, with shacks and shacks. The bear had entered a fence. For the rest we know nothing of the dynamics of the facts. Judgments should be postponed until later. Until we know how things went we don’t make judgements, everyone should keep their own instead of doing the process on Facebook. However, I have a hard time believing that it was defense. Amarena the bear has never attacked anyone. But I also do not judge and do not express myself until the investigations reveal what happened”.

This says the law for those who kill protected species. «Unless the fact constitutes a more serious offence, anyone who, outside the permitted cases, kills, captures or possesses specimens belonging to a protected wild animal species is punished with arrest from one to six months or with a fine of up to 4,000 euros. except where the action concerns a negligible quantity of such specimens and has a negligible impact on the conservation status of the species.’