Provincial territory
A technical meeting was held yesterday at the Province of Padua's Stanga headquarters to explore the issue of coypu control in the province. The event was attended by numerous mayors from the Padua area, including those attending remotely, representatives of local police departments and services, provincial administrators, the ULSS 6 Euganea Veterinary Service, the land reclamation consortia (Brenta, Acque Risorgive, Bacchiglione, Adige Euganeo), agricultural and business associations, and the local hunting districts. The technical panel included Eleonora Mosco, councilor for the Province of Padua with responsibility for the Provincial Police; Cristiano Corazzari, Veneto Regional Councilor for Hunting and Fishing; regional officials from the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Agri-environment, Planning and Management of Fish and Wildlife, Hunting, and Territorial Planning of Padua; and the Padua Provincial Police Service.
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Experimental agreement
During the meeting, the contents of the current Regional Coypu Control Plan and the actions implemented to contain their presence were explored in depth. Particular attention was paid to the new regional instrument aimed at incentivizing the control and eradication of the species. This is an experimental agreement signed between the Veneto Region and the Land Reclamation Consortia (expires December 31, 2025). The new instrument, part of the Regional Coypu Control Plan, designates the Land Reclamation Consortia as having direct responsibility for the maintenance of riverbank structures and the surveillance of watersheds particularly affected by the presence of the coypu, which lives and resides near waterways.
The next few months
The Province of Padua, through its Provincial Police Service, coordinates volunteer personnel, appropriately trained and authorized by the Veneto Region, who work to contain coypus. Approximately 300 authorized operators operate in the province's agroforestry and pastoral areas (rural, non-urbanized areas). In the first half of this year, 1.500 animals were removed, primarily through capture in special cages. The Veneto Region/Consortia Agreement provides for a €500 allocation from the regional administration, divided among the Consortia of all the Veneto provinces.
