Timely implementation
The excess number of wild boars, ungulates and wild animals are increasingly an emergency that cannot be postponed for Tuscan agriculture. Wildlife far exceeds the level of territorial sustainability, as has been highlighted for years Cia-Italian Farmers of Tuscany. In reference to the proposal of the Hunting Faunistic Plan, the Cia Toscana highlights some critical issues and improvements, recalling that it must be implemented in a timely manner, and have among the priority objectives that of responding to the needs of the agricultural world, which in many areas of Tuscany, suffers obvious difficulties of coexistence with wildlife. This situation in the current context is further aggravated due to the role that wild animals often play in terms of the spread of epizootics, and despite not having specific expertise on these aspects, the new plan in determining the objectives, and in particular in the activity monitoring regarding the achievement of the same, will also have to take into account this element, which for agricultural activities, and in particular for livestock farming, risks being even more decisive than the direct damage that the presence of wild fauna can cause.
Ordinary hunting activity
To safeguard their production, farmers need rapid and certain times with respect to the control activity, as well as the strengthening of the activity itself, especially in consideration of the sharp decline in the number of hunters, which in an increasingly smaller way will be able to contribute to guaranteeing the necessary balance, through ordinary hunting activity. But also clarity of the terms and methods with which the actions are carried out; effectiveness of interventions in protecting crops and restoring ecosystem balance. As regards the activity of the ATC - as highlighted for the drafting of the PFV - in carrying out their role, they must functionally correlate the purely hunting aspects with the presence of agricultural activity. For this reason, it is necessary to involve and share choices with the agricultural world itself, which must not be limited to ATC alone, but must concern the entire chain of choices starting from the regional level.
Protection of productions
It is also necessary to secure the rural territory, not only in terms of safeguarding the production and economic sustainability of businesses, but also to guarantee, through their survival, the necessary social and environmental support for these marginal areas. It is absolutely clear that animals are in excess and the objective of protecting agricultural activities can only be achieved through the implementation of forms of hunting, selection, sampling, containment and culling, which have the aim of bringing back the presence of wildlife, in particular ungulates, at "effectively" sustainable maximum densities, therefore well below 2,5 animals per 100 hectares. To achieve this objective, we also point out an obvious critical issue represented by the drastic decrease in the number of hunters, and by the increase in their average age, which combined with an assignment of very large hunting areas does not allow - in particular way for the wild boar species - adequate control of these territories.
Meat supply chain
With regard to the specific objectives of wildlife management, we believe that attention must be paid first to ungulates - and in particular to wild boars - and then to small fauna. In terms of valorisation of the fauna resource and the meat supply chain , while sharing the overall strategy, we highlight the need to strengthen and standardize the system of resting and processing centers in the territories, so that not only the monitoring and traceability of the hunted animals can be guaranteed, but also the strengthening of the elements of control with respect to the transmission of pathologies that can have important repercussions - first and foremost - on the breeding system.
Damage prevention
Regarding the prevention of damage, it is necessary to take every action that can lead to this result, even if we remain convinced that the most functional thing is to re-establish the pressure of fauna on the territories. Aside from the aspects linked to this instrument, it is necessary to work so that fair compensation is recognized for the damage suffered, through simplified procedures and adequate timescales. On this issue, with particular reference to protected areas, action is necessary on a political institutional level, to undermine the current mechanism for recognizing such damage which provides for the application of the "de minimis" regime, which in addition to damage to farmer, adds insult. As regards the ZRCs, the lack of effectiveness of the same with respect to the expected objectives emerges from reading the plan, also considering that numerous ungulates are often concentrated in these areas and that the activation of the art. 37 is difficult, we believe that in addition to protecting the entities that have achieved good results, the ATC initiative must not only be evaluated in a timely manner through continuous and effective monitoring, but the actions necessary for its revocation must be undertaken in a timely manner. of the authorization and/or transformation. The three reference years for the evaluation must not be linked to the adoption of the new plan, but to the results of the activity already carried out.
Hunting calendar to be explored further
Cia believes that it is necessary to gain evidence of how climate changes affect the habits of animals and the conduct of hunting activities. It is useful to look further into the hunting calendar, in order to facilitate the necessary precautions, which can be useful for optimizing the effectiveness of the action itself, encouraging sustainable coexistence, first and foremost, with the agricultural sector. Continuous monitoring is needed, concludes the Cia Toscana, also for the situation of predators. (Source CIA).