Lombardy allocates 150 thousand euros for the containment of nutria

Governor Roberto Maroni has forwarded a report to the junta to address the fight and eradication of the species, equated by the Environmental Collective to rats and mice.

La Lombardy region has decided to allocate an amount equal to 150 thousand euros to contain ed eradicate the nutria, money made available from the budget for the regional plan. At the same time, the Region asked the Ministry of Health for authorization for the use of one million euros: in this case, this is exactly half of the funds bound and destined to fight stray animals (two million euros). The appropriation and the request are contained in a disclosure submitted by the governor Robert Maroni to the junta together with Gianni Fava, Councilor for Agriculture.

As can be read in the official press release, the approval of article 7 of the Environmental Link to the Stability Law ("Provisions for limiting the spread of wild boar in protected and vulnerable areas") confirmed that otters are not a wild species to be protect in general, indeed they can be equated with rats and mice. Consequently, the management of their control should be linked to that relating to invasive species.

For the eradication, again according to the note of the president Maroni, the biological struggle and, if the latter is ineffective, the abatement plans with alternative methods approved by theISPRA. When the Institute has responded to the request for an opinion on these methods, then the table will be convened with the Lombard provinces, in order to confirm and relaunch the actions of the plan.

As explained by Councilor Fava, the problem of otters is very serious in Lombardy, in particular in the provinces of Mantua and Cremona. The alarm concerns the agricultural sector, but also road safety and the health of citizens. This is why the Region wanted to allocate its resources to hunting, hoping for the commitment of all political forces to overcome the emergency. The concern of the agricultural world, again according to Fava, has been well evidenced by the recent presence of 400 people in Campitello, in the Mantua area.

The last hints of the press release have to do with the regulatory framework. Regional laws governing the containment of nutria have begun to take shape with the reads 32 of the 2014, which modified the previous text of 2002. A summer resolution of the Region approved the regional plan for the containment and eradication of the nutria: furthermore, the coordination table explained what are the guidelines to be followed to operate in a transparent and effective manner, especially taking into account the current reorganization of the provinces and the public administration. However, the management methods are not in contrast with the national regulatory framework and local plans.