The northern Italian region of Trentino-Alto Adige has made a controversial decision to help out roe deer starving to death in a national park as a result of unusually heavy snowfall this winter.
Trentino-Alto Adige Governor Luis Durnwalder has attracted polemics by instructing authorities at the Stelvio national park to leave piles of fodder for the deer until the snow melts.
But critics argue that the animals should not be fed in this artificial manner, since the heavy snowfall is a natural phenomenon that could contribute to natural selection.
Durnwalder stressed that the decision was to prevent the animals from suffering.
''I'm a hunter myself and I certainly don't see in every wild animal a Bambi to save,'' he said.
''But this year we find ourselves with an exceptional situation and we need to save the animals from unnecessary suffering''.
Roe deer are little, graceful deer with small antlers and a reddish-brown coat. They are common in the woodlands of Europe and Asia.
