The bear is currently in an animal centre in Trento and will travel to the Liberty Bear Sanctuary in Zarnesti, Romania, the environment ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
The positive response from Romania comes in the context of efforts “to verify the availability of foreign facilities more suitable to host the brown bear specimen in order to avoid its slaughter,” the statement read.
Jj4 has been held at the Casteller sanctuary in Trento since mid-April after it attacked and killed 26-year-old trail runner Andrea Papi on Mount Peller near the Alpine town of Caldes on April 5.
Papi was the first Italian to be killed by a bear in modern times, although animal rights groups have disputed evidence that the bear was to blame.
The provincial authorities immediately ordered for the bear to be captured and put down, triggering a court battle and dividing public opinion.
Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto has said he is against the bear being culled and tasked ministerial experts to find alternative solutions.
Pichetto also established a task force “engaged in the definition of a strategic plan” for the broader “management of bears and all wild animals”.
ANSA
