Bruno the bear shot dead in Alps (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

Hunters in the Bavarian Alps have shot dead a brown bear called Bruno after spending weeks trying to find it.

Earlier the German authorities had said the bear could be shot because it posed a danger to humans.
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The bear had been blamed for killing dozens of sheep. It had crossed into Germany from Italy in May.
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Bruno was the first wild bear to be sighted in Germany since 1835.

The animal was part of an Italian programme to reintroduce bears to the Alps.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5116316.stm

[Dead_Parrot]

1. Fuck.

I saw they'd lifted his "protected" status and put him back on the fair game list, but I didn't think any fucker would actually take it up.

Message to the hunter:
I hope you die a long, lonely, painful death you ignorant piece of shit.

[emanymton]

5. Speaking Of Ignorance ...

Do you know anything about the PERSON who did the hunting?

Do you know anything about the environment where the bear was ranging?

Do you know anything about anything that happened beyond the headline and short news report?

The decision to kill the bear, in Germany, will have been made only after all other humane opitions had been exhausted. When an animal presents a risk to humans, then it is time to protect human life and eliminate the risk.

[Dead_Parrot]

6. "Risk to humans" my arse

This was the first bear for 150 years in the German Bavairian forests, which are fucking enormous. Humane options were barely scratched - after a week or so of trying to tranq. the bear he was declared fair game for lead.

I am not, FWIW, a screaming vegan - 2 weeks ago I snagged a rather nice stag in the Tararua Mnts, and the cat is now so full of venison it has to roll everywhere rather than walk: but killing the only wild bear in German Bavaria (and for all I know, all of Germany) is a fucking disgrace.

[emanymton]

7. "... my arse" Not Withstanding ...

The protection of the natural environment movement is very big Germany and Bavaria. People of all ages 'Wandering' (hiking) throughout the Alps is a wholly encouraged sport by the state of Bavaria.

The bear had already killed sheep (according to the news report). Regardless of how long the authorities took to make the decision, one incident involving a human being threatened by a wild animal, and what would the headlines read?

What would be the disgrace?

[Dead_Parrot]

8. I've been hiking in Germany...

More to the point, I've also been hiking in the Italian Alps, where Bruno came from, and I was not eaten alive by mauauding packs of wild bears.

"Farmers get so tightarsed about money they kill the only bear in Bavaria" is still the disgrace.

[emanymton]

9. It Is Not A Disgrace ...

it is a necessity.

The protection of human life is paramount. Once the bear became a threat to humans, the state had to move to remove the threat.

[Dead_Parrot]

10. Doubtless you can provide...

figures for the number of people attacked by brown bears in Italy, Austria and Switzerland since the the re-introduction was started?

[emanymton]

14. And Your Point Would Be?

[Eurobabe]

2. Yes, very sad news, this bear was about 20km

south of where I now am staying. I was very pissed when I heard that they killed it. Senseless.

I hope the shooter gets bad bear karma!

[acmavm]

3. Some people just LOVE to kill. Did anybody think that maybe

that bear had more of a right to that mountains and woods then some human being did? In fact, the humans were trespassing into the bear's territory.

This just pisses me off.

[xchrom]

4. damn it!

[NNadir]

11. We had a bear shot in downtown Trenton recently.

The police did him in.

http://www.nj.com/news/times/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1150096212296170.xml&coll=5

I don't know if the bear was given a warning before being shot. I suspect that he was unarmed. However, it is illegal to be a bear in Trenton and we have a zero tolerance policy. Personally I would have preferred if the bear had been arrested. It may have been possible for him to serve a life sentence without parole.

When humans show up, other large mammals generally suffer. The bigger you are, the harder you fall. Just ask the mastadon. Humans have been showing up in more and more places in larger and larger numbers.

[eppur_se_muova]

12. A bear was shot in Pittsburgh several years ago...

with a tranquilizer dart.

Apparently, the original plan -- as publicly announced -- was to tranquilize Bruno. But after he killed more than 20 sheep (later updated to "dozens", which sounds like a lot more than he could possibly have eaten) officials decided to kill him, considering him to be likely to attack humans if encountered.

I found this one item puzzling: "Bruno's mother - who is blamed for his savage behaviour - has another three cubs."

Bruno the abused codependent?:shrug:

[Dead_Parrot]

13. The sheep is an interesting snippet...

Brown bears don't go for animals that size - maybe one if they're starving, which sounds unlikely in a Bavarian summer. Killing "dozens" is about as likely as Bruno spontaneously learning to ride a unicycle while wearing a humorous paper hat.

A pissed-off dog, on the other hand, will clear a dozen sheep in 10 minutes just for fun. Methinks the fingers might have been pointed in the wrong direction.