The summary of a year
Today, in the council room in Corso Garibaldi, the Commander of the Local Police of the Province of Piacenza Matteo Re together with Luigi Rabuffi, who held the leadership of the Police until 08/31/2025, presented the balance of the activities carried out during 2025, a year marked by intense operations, strong interinstitutional collaboration, and a constant commitment to ensuring safety, environmental protection, and territorial governance. Also present was Inspector Emilia Pace, the official in charge of litigation procedures.
Wildlife protection and surveillance
Overall, the Provincial Local Police dedicated 7.488 hours of service to fishing and hunting surveillance. In carrying out these inspections, they were supported by the Voluntary Fishing Guards (GGVI), the Voluntary Hunting Guards (GGVV), and the Voluntary Ecological Guards (GEV) of the provincial groups, each equipped with a Prefectural Decree and a certificate of qualification issued by the Province to perform voluntary hunting surveillance functions. To coordinate the Voluntary Fishing Guards (GGIV), an average of one meeting was held per month. Police officers, together with the GGIV, issued 101 fines (73 in 2024). As a result of the enforcement activity, 43 fishing gear (rods) were seized, compared to 17 the previous year. In 2025, "Operation Po" was inaugurated, a vast joint operation aimed at combating river poaching, conducted synergistically by all competent entities in the area, exceeding provincial and regional monthly administrative limits.
Hunting protection and surveillance
In 2025, the company contracted to remove and dispose of 169 carcasses of native warm-blooded wildlife found on public roads (excluding toll roads) and in publicly owned or publicly used areas (196 in 2024). It should also be noted that in the same year, the body appointed by the Region (CRAS) recovered/treated 1.220 distressed/injured wildlife (1.109 in 2024). Over the course of the year, the Local Police of the Province of Piacenza, together with volunteer staff from the GEV Associations and Groups, checked a total of 2.050 people, a significant increase over the previous year (1.580 in 2024), and issued 99 fines (155 in 2024).
Regional nutria plan
The control activity, carried out by volunteer ATC staff, resulted in the culling of 375 coypu in 2025 (903 in 2024). During 2025, the Province of Piacenza continued implementing the control plan for fossorial species, in accordance with Article 16 of Regional Law No. 8 of February 15, 1994. To ensure full compliance with regional regulations and greater effectiveness in implementing the control plans, the Province entered into a specific agreement with the relevant ATCs, continuing previous collaborations. The activities carried out thus contributed to the prevention of collapse of watercourse embankments and road embankments.
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African swine fever
Wild boar control is the most effective measure in the Piacenza area to combat African Swine Fever (ASF), a disease that reached Emilia-Romagna on November 9, 2023. The risk of ASF spreading throughout the province, with potentially serious repercussions for the entire pig industry, has necessitated intensifying wild boar population control efforts, particularly in the plains and hilly areas where most farms are located. For this reason, the Local Police Command of the Province of Piacenza has proceeded, in the year under review, to automatically extend all existing permits until December 31, 2026 – the expiration date of the five-year regional plan (Directive Decree No. 1695 of December 12, 2023), in addition to issuing new permits (for roaming, self-defense, daytime selective shooting, and group control with 2-3 dogs). Despite the limitations imposed by the Commissioner's provisions (in terms of operational areas, intervention methods, requirements for assistants, carcass management procedures, etc.) and despite a significant decline in the wild boar population due to the spread of the virus, 997 control interventions were carried out in 2025, involving 4.710 operators, resulting in the culling of 720 animals, 32 of which occurred within the Park. The management activity resulting from the combination of carcass search and depopulation coordinated by the Piacenza Territorial Operations Group made it possible to downgrade the Piacenza area from Restricted Zone III to Restricted Zone II in November 2025 (source: Province of Piacenza).
