It did not take the police long to identify Andrea Papi's killer. The body of the 26-year-old runner was found two weeks ago on a mountain in the Brenta DolomitesA mountain range in northeastern Italy. - along with traces of his attacker's DNA. A careful check matched it to JJ4 - a female brown bear.

Forest rangers with tracker dogs set off in search of her. Once located, she was lured into a trap baited with fruit and tranquillised. From there she was taken to an animal care centre to await her fate.

The region's governor, Maurizo Fugatti, wanted her killed right away. But two environmentalists filed an appeal with the local courts. The case will be heard on 11 May.

Fugatti believes that if JJ4 is allowed to live she might kill again: in 2020 she attacked a father and son in the mountains. Environmentalists argue that she was simply following her instinct to protect the three cubs who were with her. Lava and Lac have offered to find a home for her where she would be kept away from humans.

This is not the first controversy around bears in the area. In 2014 a mushroom picker suffered cuts and scratches after he came between a bear called Daniza and her cubs. Daniza was captured, but died as a result of being sedated, causing an outcry by environmentalists.

Bears are native to Europe, but became almost extinct in the Alps: by the 1990s there were only four left. A project called LIFE Ursus was launched to revive the population, with ten bears being brought in from SloveniaA country in Central Europe with a population of just over 2 million.. There are now over 100.¹

Public opinion was strongly in favour of bringing back the bears. Environmentalists insist that they are vital to the local eco-system. But some people see them mainly as a threat to humans and farm animals.

Attacks by bears are actually very rare. Sweden, which has 4,000 to 5,000 bears, averages one incident a year.²

Marco Antonelli, a naturalist working for the World Wildlife Foundation, thinks that Papi's death could have been prevented. He argues that the reintroduction of bears should have been accompanied by a better education programme:

"We should have taken a cue from North America, where there is very specific signage [notifying the public on] the fact that there are bears in the area and how to behave... It is irresponsible to say that bears should be killed."

Yes: Conserving wild creatures is a worthy goal, but not when it involves a risk to human life and to farmers' livelihoods. Environmentalists should focus on smaller and less dangerous animals.

No: Bears are a vital part of the eco-system and it is terrible that they have been hunted and had their habitats ruined by humans. We should leave wild areas to the creatures who originally lived there.

Or... The whole idea of rewilding is misguided. Humans have evolved like every other species to take what they can from the environment. If other creatures get in the way it is their bad luck.