An Italian court today suspended the decision to kill one brown bear which last April attacked and killed a 26-year-old jogging in the Alps.

Judges at Rome’s administrative court ruled that while the bear should be kept in captivity for the safety of citizens, killing it was a “disproportionate” and unnecessary decision. They thus granted a “suspension” of execution for the bear, known by the initials JJ4, and its fate has attracted the attention of the Italian media since the attack. His district governor Trentowhere the incident took place, called for her to be killed while animal rights groups called for her to be spared.

The final decision is not expected to be issued before December.

After 1999, based on a program funded by the EU, brown bears were reintroduced to the area around the city of Trento. In recent years, however, there have been many attacks, raising questions as to whether it is possible to achieve a successful symbiosis of these animals with humans.

JJ4, a 17-year-old female bear, has been accused of attacks on two more people.

The animal rights lobby LAV welcomed the court decision. “There is no reason to delay the transfer of JJ4 to a safe, approved sanctuary in Romania,” said Chewing Vitouria representative of the organization that has established this sanctuary and offered to pay for the transport of the bear.

The judges “gave life” to another bear, the MJ5who was sentenced to death for wounding a man last March, but has yet to be captured.