In Calabria, until next December, it will be possible to shoot down until 3400 wild boars, compared to the limit of 500 set previously. This is what the Plan for the selection of wild boars on the Calabrian territory, approved by theIspra, the Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, technical body of the Ministry of the Environment and the protection of the territory and the sea. Furthermore, the expiry of the Plan has been set for next December (the previous was in August).
"A very important result, the maximum that, at present, we could achieve as a Region - said the regional councilor of Calabria delegated to Agriculture, Mauro D'Acri- but we realize that it is absolutely not enough to face a problem that has become a serious emergency in the Calabrian territory and beyond. Although in about three months of activity we have cut down about 500 heads, exactly as required by the selection plan in force, about 60% of whom are under one year of age, as strictly indicated by the legislation, and we have reached the goal even before the expiry of the plan which was set in August, we are aware that such interventions risk being a palliative compared to the size that has taken on a problem that is causing, on a daily basis, serious economic problems to the agricultural sector and ever greater dangers for the safety of people and things.
Even if, given the current legislation, what has been put in place represents the maximum number of actions that the Agriculture Department can implement, however, it is a question of necessary but not sufficient interventions ». «It is necessary to intervene immediately - still maintains D'Acri - to review the current Framework Law 157/92, for which the selection possibilities are very restrictive. Only by changing the Law 157 we will finally be able to update the regional law, the 9/96, and adapt it to the characteristics of our region. Already last week, during a meeting with Minister Centinaio, together with all the councilors of the other Regions, we asked for an urgent meeting with the Environment Minister to address the constraints imposed by current legislation and which do not allow us to fully address the problem, not only of wild boars, but of all wildlife ».
«In the next few days - adds the councilor D'Acri - it is my intention re-solicit the meeting. Although I am aware that the problem has many aspects: environmental, hunting and economic of not easy solution, I am also convinced that due to the size of the problem we are in the presence of a strong imbalance that is no longer bearable. This is an imbalance, given by overpopulation, which causes considerable economic damage, especially in increasingly fragile inland areas, to a vital sector for Calabria such as that agricultural and that, therefore, it is necessary to quickly find the right balance ».