Dead wolf sparks fear in Turin

The 18-month-old male wolf was run over by a driver between Airasca and Volvera, south of Turin, Torino Today reported.

The driver then picked up the animal and drove it to a veterinary clinic in the city, where staff alerted the authorities, the news website said.

Although wolves are protected under EU law, their presence in Italy has been a point of contention in recent months.

In January, farmers in Tuscany snared and killed wolves, dumping their bodies in villages and towns in protest at their livestock being hunted by the animals.

READ MORE: Italian farmers slaughter wolves in protest

While wolves are usually nocturnal predators, one living in northern Italy shocked locals in October when it began running around their town in broad daylight. The wolf was said to have no fear of humans and was blamed for killing animals in Casoni and Ertola in Liguria.

READ MORE: Wolf terrorizes residents in Liguria

The wolf population in northern Italy is on the rise, with around 70 wolves living in the country’s Alpine region, according to a 2012 EU report. The number is however continuously changing, as the animals give little thought to national borders, with between 600 to 800 reported in the Italian peninsula as a whole.

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