German kill order on stray bear
BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) -- Hunters in southern Germany have been given the green light to shoot the first wild bear seen in Bavaria in 170 years after the 100-kilogram beast went on a rampage, killing a dozen sheep and numerous chickens.
The German animal protection agency in Bavaria described as "hysterical" the decision to kill the bear, which had at first been welcomed when it wandered across the Austrian border at the weekend. But authorities were adamant.
"It is now a problem bear," Bavarian environment minister Werner Schnappaufsaid. "A man-bear encounter could occur at any time. It cannot be allowed to roam freely. We will ask hunters to shoot the bear."
Joern Ehlers, a spokesman for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), told German radio that it was unusual for bears, normally shy animals, to seek out food in the vicinity of humans.
"The WWF is trying to catch the bear alive," Ehlers said. "Initially we wanted to tag it so we could better track its movements, but now it looks as if this bear cannot be left out in the wild because it's simply too dangerous."
Top-selling German daily Bild plastered a big picture of the bear with a hunter's bull's eye on it on its front page, alongside the headline "Death sentence for German bears!".
In a full page article, the paper showed gory pictures of disembowled sheep alongside their concerned owners.
"It gutted them and then just ate their hearts and livers," the paper quoted 42-year old farmer Anton W. as saying.
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