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The court in Trento, Italy, has acquitted the president of the Autonomous Province, Maurizio Fugatti, of charges of killing an animal with cruelty or without necessity. At the center of the trial was the case involving the bear M90, which was shot in February 2024 after being labeled problematic.
The judge determined that "the fact does not constitute a crime," rejecting the prosecution's thesis that the animal would have been killed without anesthesia, an element considered crucial to constitute a crime. This decision ends the first instance in a case that has sparked public debate far beyond Trentino's borders.
The shooting and the motive
M90 was a young animal, about two and a half years old, that was increasingly showing up near inhabited areas. The tipping point came on January 28, 2024, when the bear chased two people for several meters in the municipality of Mezzana.
A few days later, on February 6, Fugatti signed the order to shoot. The intervention was quickly carried out by forest rangers in the Val di Sole. According to the Province, it was a necessary measure to ensure public safety, in line with the procedures in place for high-risk cases.
Criticism from organizations
Animal protection organizations totally disagreed. They had posed as injured parties and demanded compensation of 300,000 euros, a claim that was rejected by the court. According to these organizations, the shooting took place in violation of the very rules established for the management of wild fauna.
Central to the criticism is also the context in which M90 moved. The bear, they argue, entered urban areas because it was attracted to unprotected trash containers, a situation that encouraged it to get used to human presence. From that perspective, the animal was not dangerous in the strict sense, but rather the result of ineffective management of the area.
A decision that does not close the case
The acquittal formula doesn't call into question the facts, but it excludes the existence of the subjective component of the crime. A legal technicality, however, that leaves the public and legal debate open. The organizations have already announced new initiatives, pending the verdict's reasoning, which will be published in the coming weeks.
Their goal is to assess whether an appeal is possible and continue what they describe as a fight for wildlife protection. Meanwhile, the M90 case continues to symbolize a broader dichotomy: that between human safety and coexistence with wildlife is a balance that remains difficult to strike and is too often brutally 'resolved' with lethal gunfire.
(©Ufficio Stampa Provincia di Trento / LAV via GreenMe.it 2026 / Managing Editor: Julie Morgan - The Press Junction / Picture: ©Miguel Bruna via Unsplash)