Abruzzo Hunting Calendar, is an open battle between Febbo and the environmentalists of the WWF regarding the appeal presented to the TAR.
The Regional Councilor for Agricultural Policies with responsibility for hunting, Mauro Febbo, replied to the satisfied declarations of the WWF regarding the appeal to the TAR presented for the Hunting Calendar for the 2011-2012 season together with other environmental associations including the Italian Animalists and the Anti-hunting league.
According to the WWF, in fact, it is a real “Waterloo” for the Abruzzo Region, representing yet another defeat for the EIA Committee and for the Department of Agriculture. The matter concerns the sentence, filed by the TAR Abruzzo of L'Aquila, concerning the appeal presented by the WWF Italy, Italian Animalists and the Anti-Hunting League regarding the contents of the 2011-2012 Regional Hunting Calendar.
Already last October the appeal had resulted in the suspension of the hunting calendar of the Abruzzo Region; with the recent sentence, on the other hand, the environmentalists rejoice as the TAR has accepted the main criticisms raised and considered the constitutionality exception of the Regional Law 10/2004 on the hunting activity in Abruzzo founded on the part that governs the Single Section on Migration.
Great satisfaction therefore of WWF Abruzzo for the sentence of the TAR which also satisfied the explicit request of the associations to discuss the appeal on the merits even though the 2011-2012 Hunting Calendar has already expired since it was considered that it is in the interest of both the applicants and the Abruzzo Region itself, to know the motivations of merit on the exceptions raised in order to be able to adapt future hunting calendars.
Among the various issues raised, the most important ones concern the “Species in Decline”, the Brown Bear, Unsuitable Technical Report and the Constitutionality of the Single Section on Migration, use of lead ammunition and hunting hours.
We report in full the reasons of the WWF regarding the points in question as published on the regional website of the association:
"1) DECLINING SPECIES: the opening to hunting was allowed for declining species and the extension of the hunting period for these and other species (such as whisk, tufted duck, garganey, shoveler, pintail, gadwall, wigeon, snipe) departing from the periods and management methods indicated by ISPRA. For the first point, the WWF had argued that the Abruzzo Region allowed hunting for various declining species, especially aquatic, despite not having produced recent censuses and despite the data collected by the Abruzzese Ornithological Station indicated a minimal presence in Abruzzo of the species in question ( less than 5.000, for some few individuals). In such a situation, not only the Abruzzo Region has however opened the hunt for these species but has also foreseen unusual game boxes compared to the real numerical consistency of the species in Abruzzo (the WWF had highlighted the sensational fact that the Region allowed a theoretical sampling of 3.825.000. XNUMX individuals per year for these species!). The TAR has fully accepted this criticism and now the Abruzzo Region will have to adapt also for the future by closing the hunt for these declining species (SPEC) and present with numbers that do not allow any collection.
2) BROWN BEAR: the VIA committee had previously forbidden the start of hunting in the area A of the PATOM of maximum presence of the brown bear but after a few weeks it had changed its mind with a second judgment in which hunting activity was allowed placing some prescriptions for the boar hunting only. On this point, the TAR censors the Abruzzo Region and the VIA Committee on the protection of the symbolic animal of the Region, the Marsican brown bear. After the request received from the Abruzzo National Park Authority which asked to avoid disturbance to the bear in a very delicate period such as the one that precedes the hibernation in which the bear is hyperphagic, the VIA Committee had launched a first opinion prohibiting until November XNUMXst, all hunting activities in the areas of greatest presence of the species. After a few weeks the same Committee made a sensational turnaround despite the precise and detailed warnings sent by the WWF. Well, the TAR heavily beaten the Department of Agriculture and the EIA Committee by writing "The shortcomings of the evaluation carried out and the lack of motivation on the aforementioned specific points therefore leads to the acceptance of the complaints examined relating to the impact assessment."
3) UNSUITABLE TECHNICAL REPORT: the Department of Agriculture had attached a technical report to the Hunting Calendar. This report, according to the associations, did not comply with the technical requirements that the Environmental Incidence Study must have in accordance with the Community regulations on Environmental Impact Assessment in order to assess the impact of hunting (for disturbance, etc.) on particularly protected species at community level (not only the bear, but also the wolf, the chamois, the lesser kestrel, etc.). The VIA Committee had unexpectedly agreed to evaluate this study. Even more serious is therefore the complaint of the TAR on the work of the EIA Committee and the officials of the Department of Agriculture on this point, when it confirms that the entire technical report attached to the Calendar did not allow to evaluate the effects of hunting on protected species. at the community level.
4) CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE SINGLE COMPARTMENT ON MIGRATION: the single sector on migration, introduced by the regional law 10/2004, defining Abruzzo as the only sector, denies the hunter-territory link required by the national hunting law, making it possible for hunters not only to go hunting even outside the ATC in which he is registered but also to hunt for several days a week. The TAR has issued an order with which it asks the Constitutional Court to express itself on the constitutionality of the regional law.
5) USE OF LEAD AMMUNITION: the Region has allowed the use of lead ammunition (shot and lead cartridges) for which ISPRA had highlighted the existence of serious health problems deriving from contamination by this heavy metal, not only for the rare necrophagous species such as Red Kite and Griffon but also for the man himself. Instead of banning it, the Region had simply "advised against" its use. Also on this aspect, the TAR agreed with the WWF, arguing that the Abruzzo Region has not correctly assessed the need to ban the use of lead ammunition despite their dangerousness.
6) OTHER ASPECTS: the TAR also accepted the part of the appeal on the definition of hunting times. Other marginal aspects have not been accepted (such as the clear indication of the maps of the burned areas and a few more days on the Woodpecker hunt) but the number of points on which the associations have been justified is such that the base is undermined. entire calendar apparatus.
Michele Pezone, lawyer who handled the appeal to the TAR for associations, declares “The appeal was very complex but, as mentioned, there were 5 main and general points as well as some more specific situations. The TAR not only agreed with us on the most important issues but also accepted our theses on points, such as hunting times, which seem more marginal but which are nevertheless important, for example for checks by the police. The acceptance by the TAR of the question of constitutional legitimacy of the single sector on migration provided for by regional legislation is very significant: it is an enormous success that finally opens the way for a clarifying sentence by the Constitutional Court. Although the Abruzzo region continues to launch the calendars at the last second instead of approving them by June 15 as required by law, complicating and slowing down our action, we have achieved an extraordinary result. Furthermore, last year they even went so far as to change the "running" hunting calendar and in the end, after the first suspension of the TAR, we also had to present formal warnings and an "appeal for compliance" because the councilor was late in the timely application of the suspension of the TAR. The sentence in one point clarifies that it was necessary to enter into the merits also because it is good to clarify events that could also have relevance in other aspects, such as, in my opinion, that of the damage to the unavailable heritage of the State constituted by wildlife. Now we will also be able to work in this sense so that those who have to make decisions on biodiversity that is everyone's heritage do so for the common good and not to benefit the interests of the hunters ”.
The response of the regional councilor Febbo was immediate according to which “The WWF continues with its work of mystification and exploitation of the facts. The TAR considered the grounds for appeal to be justified only on some points ", in fact he explained on the issue," In particular for thrushes and woodcock the motivation and the data reported in the attached technical report were considered sufficient, despite the unfavorable opinion of the Ispra, while for the blackbird, the turtledove and the hare, the TAR deemed the choices made adequately justified, because in line with the ISPRA guidelines ”.
Continuing the explanation, the commissioner explained, “In relation to the single sector, the application of the relative discipline in the calendar is legitimate because it is provided for by regional law and the question of constitutional legitimacy does not affect the question of the calendar. The TAR then reiterated that the EIA opinion is not mandatory for regional calendars, but the same was requested by the Region on the indication of ISPRA. Acceptance of the appeal is based, however, on the fact that the opinion itself should have consisted of a specific assessment, with specific purposes and with regard to particular territorial areas and particular natural resources. Also in relation to the areas affected by the fire, the TAR considered the question unfounded ".
In addition, in relation to the question of the protection of the Marsican Bear, Febbo added, "The Region, particularly sensitive to the problem, has started in October 2011, with the endorsement of the Ministry of the Environment, a process for the activation of action B1 of the Action Plan for the protection of the Marsican bear (conflict management, hunting activities). However, it should be stressed that the ISPRA expressed itself in favor of the provisions regarding the forms of wild boar hunting in the areas where the bear is present ”.
With regard to the times set by the Calendar for the performance of the hunting activity, Febbo explained that "from the beginning it was a matter of little relevance since within 15 days, the time in which the sun rises it varies only by a few minutes and in any case during the first half hour of the hunting time there is not enough light to exercise the hunting activity. The point was also accepted in suspension only because it was not adequately motivated and in any case the Region has taken steps to adapt to the indications of the TAR ".
Finally, the commissioner Febbo, with regard to the issue of sustainable hunting, specified that it only concerns the data available species by species, in fact "the TAR underlined that the technical report attached to the calendar provided, especially by species, the reasons supporting the choices made by the Region for the 2011/2012 hunting calendar. In relation only to some species classified as 'Spec' (acronym of the conservation status of the various bird species), whose data are sufficient to demonstrate the sustainability of the collection, in particular those relating to culling, the TAR accepted the reason of appeal. On the other hand, the disputes concerning the species on which the data are sufficient were considered unfounded ”.