Bear F36: Two Recreational Hunters Must Face Trial
Nearly two years after the controversial killing of bear F36 in the Province of Trento, legal proceedings are now underway: two recreational hunters, both aged 70, have been formally charged. The prosecution accuses them of shooting the animal in September 2023 without necessity and out of cruelty. The trial is set to begin on 9 February 2026 before the Regional Court in Trento.
The investigation had originally targeted four men.
In the course of the proceedings, the focus narrowed to two hobby hunters, who are now charged with “joint killing of an animal out of cruelty and without necessity.” They are accused of shooting the bear with hunting weapons despite the absence of any dangerous situation.
According to findings to date, F36 was behaving peacefully and posed no threat at any point. The animal was accompanied by an eight-month-old cub — a circumstance that makes the case all the more explosive.
An Animal Between Protection and Killing
F36 had already made headlines before her death. Following two encounters with humans in the summer of 2023, the Province of Trento had initially issued a culling order. However, this was halted by the administrative courts: rather than killing the animal, it should have been captured. A few weeks later, F36 was found dead on 27 September 2023 in Val Bondone — a shock for animal welfare advocates and the public alike.
A Trial With a Signal Effect
The charges are based on articles of the Italian Criminal Code that penalise the killing of animals without compelling reason. Several environmental and animal protection organisations have already announced their intention to join the proceedings as co-plaintiffs, including the Italian association LEAL.
The case demonstrates that the illegal killing of wildlife is no trivial offence. “We expect a clear signal from the justice system,” emphasised a spokesperson for the organisation.
Symbol for the handling of predators
The death of F36 has reignited the already heated debate about the coexistence of humans and bears in Trentino. While the provincial government has been pushing for strict regulation of the population for years, conservationists are demanding more protective measures and an end to culling orders in the hunt.
The upcoming proceedings could, for the first time, send a clear legal signal — not only in the case of F36, but more broadly regarding the management of the approximately 100 brown bears currently living in Trentino.
More on the subject of recreational hunting: In the dossier The Role and Criticism of Recreational Hunters we shed light on the training, power and self-image of recreational hunters. The scientific evidence is presented in the overview Studies on the Effects of Recreational Hunting.
The position of IG Wild beim Wild: IG Wild beim Wild rejects recreational hunting. Our model is the canton of Geneva, which has managed without recreational hunting since 1974: without hunting seasons, without hunting dogs, without driven hunts, without high seats, without the animal cruelty and crime that go hand in hand with hunting season elsewhere. What has worked there for over fifty years disproves every position paper by JagdSchweiz. An association that bases its policy on claims it refutes in its own documents is not a professional organisation, but a factory for misinformation.
