Bavarian Hunters Kill Bruno the Bear

Bruno, the brown bear who has spent the past seven weeks commuting between the mountains of Italy, Austria and Germany, was shot dead early on Monday by hunters in Bavaria, provoking outrage among environmentalists who had campaigned to save him.

German officials confirmed that Bruno was killed at 4.50am near the town of Zell. "The shooting has happened - the bear is dead," said Manfred Wölfl, the Bavarian government's bear specialist. He gave no further details ahead of a press conference.

But there was confusion over the exact circumstances in which the bear - affectionately dubbed Bruno by the German media - was killed. A team of Finnish hunters had spent the past two weeks trying to capture him alive. They gave up over the weekend after failing to trap and stun him.

It seems that a group of Bavarian hunters took matters into their own hands, after being given permission to shoot it by Bavaria's rightwing environment minister, Werner Schnappauf. "Mr Schnappauf should resign," Heike Finke, spokeswoman for Germany's Wildlife Alliance, told the Guardian on Monday. "It's incomprehensible. Other countries such as France, Romania, Austria and Italy manage to co-exist with bears. But three weeks after the first one turns up in Germany we have to shoot it. It's so frustrating."

She added: "I have to go and lecture developing world countries about how they should save their elephants and tigers. I haven't got much credibility as a German when we kill our only bear. It's embarrassing."

"This is the most stupid of all solutions," Hubert Weinzierl, the head of Germany's Wildlife Protection Association, said. "It's a tragedy for nature protection in Bavaria."

"Unfortunately this could have been foreseen," said Jörn Ehlers, a spokesman for the WWF. "He found his way into our hearts, although one also had to see the danger."

Bruno rambled into Germany last month from his home in northern Italy. He was the first wild bear to be seen in the country since the last one was shot - also by Bavarian hunters - in 1838. Technically known as JJ1, he was part of a programme in northern Italy to reintroduce the animal into the Alps. The 100kg (16-stone) bear, which had been spotted several times, had not harmed humans.

Over the weekend three mountain bikers saw him going for a swim in a lake. They watched as he vanished into the mountains. An Austrian motorist also encountered Bruno last week after he jumped down from the wall of a reservoir, clipping the motorist's wing mirror.

The bear had killed sheep and rabbits and looted beehives for honey. Officials described him as a "problem bear" because he went near homes and appeared to have lost his fear of people. His travels had kept the attention of German media even during wall-to-wall coverage of the World Cup. Some observers had speculated that Bruno may even have been heading for Berlin - the venue for the World Cup final on July 9. On Saturday Austrian authorities gave hunters permission to kill the bear if they encountered him.

Mr Schnappauf - who appears to have approved Bruno's killing - was in Shanghai on Monday and not immediately available for comment. German nature groups said on Monday that they had tried to organise another attempt to capture the bear and put him in a nature reserve. But Bavarian officials refused them permission, they claimed. Bruno, the brown bear who has spent the past seven weeks commuting between the mountains of Italy, Austria and Germany, was shot dead early on Monday by hunters in Bavaria, provoking outrage among environmentalists who had campaigned to save him.

German officials confirmed that Bruno was killed at 4.50am near the town of Zell. "The shooting has happened - the bear is dead," said Manfred Wölfl, the Bavarian government's bear specialist. He gave no further details ahead of a press conference.

But there was confusion over the exact circumstances in which the bear - affectionately dubbed Bruno by the German media - was killed. A team of Finnish hunters had spent the past two weeks trying to capture him alive. They gave up over the weekend after failing to trap and stun him.

It seems that a group of Bavarian hunters took matters into their own hands, after being given permission to shoot it by Bavaria's rightwing environment minister, Werner Schnappauf. "Mr Schnappauf should resign," Heike Finke, spokeswoman for Germany's Wildlife Alliance, told the Guardian on Monday. "It's incomprehensible. Other countries such as France, Romania, Austria and Italy manage to co-exist with bears. But three weeks after the first one turns up in Germany we have to shoot it. It's so frustrating."

She added: "I have to go and lecture developing world countries about how they should save their elephants and tigers. I haven't got much credibility as a German when we kill our only bear. It's embarrassing."

"This is the most stupid of all solutions," Hubert Weinzierl, the head of Germany's Wildlife Protection Association, said. "It's a tragedy for nature protection in Bavaria."

"Unfortunately this could have been foreseen," said Jörn Ehlers, a spokesman for the WWF. "He found his way into our hearts, although one also had to see the danger."

Bruno rambled into Germany last month from his home in northern Italy. He was the first wild bear to be seen in the country since the last one was shot - also by Bavarian hunters - in 1838. Technically known as JJ1, he was part of a programme in northern Italy to reintroduce the animal into the Alps. The 100kg (16-stone) bear, which had been spotted several times, had not harmed humans.

Over the weekend three mountain bikers saw him going for a swim in a lake. They watched as he vanished into the mountains. An Austrian motorist also encountered Bruno last week after he jumped down from the wall of a reservoir, clipping the motorist's wing mirror.

The bear had killed sheep and rabbits and looted beehives for honey. Officials described him as a "problem bear" because he went near homes and appeared to have lost his fear of people. His travels had kept the attention of German media even during wall-to-wall coverage of the World Cup. Some observers had speculated that Bruno may even have been heading for Berlin - the venue for the World Cup final on July 9. On Saturday Austrian authorities gave hunters permission to kill the bear if they encountered him.

Mr Schnappauf - who appears to have approved Bruno's killing - was in Shanghai on Monday and not immediately available for comment. German nature groups said on Monday that they had tried to organise another attempt to capture the bear and put him in a nature reserve. But Bavarian officials refused them permission, they claimed.