The Councilor for the Environment and Climate of Lombardy region, Raffaele Cattaneo, replied to a question Advise on the presence of the wolf in Lombardy and on interventions to protect regional rural livestock. "The wolf in our region - explains Raffaele Cattaneo - has been present for years especially in the Alpine and Apennine areas and the Lombardy Region actively participates in monitoring programs included in European projects, such as the Life Wolfalps Eu project, and Italians: lastly the national monitoring coordinated by Ispra which will end at the end of this year ”.
“The expansion of the wolf is the result only and exclusively - underlines the Councilor for the Environment - of natural dynamics of the species. In fact, if it naturally returns to our territory, since it is a species protected by national and European Union legislation, what we can do is commit ourselves to make its presence compatible with that of man and activities that man leads in some territories, such as breeding. It is in this direction that the Lombardy Region is working to implement specific activities for the prevention of damage, as well as to monitor the evolution of the presence of the species in the territories ".
The first national monitoring started in 2020 and will finish at the end of this year. Under the direction of Ispra, the Lombardy Region, with the support of Ersaf and the Stelvio National Park, it coordinates the activities of the provincial police forces, the forest police and regional parks. 96 exits were made in the provinces of Como, Milan (Ticino Park), Brescia and Sondrio. The results of the project will be available at the end of this year, however, we can now confirm the stable presence on the regional Alpine territory of two herds, on average composed of 5 specimens: one in the Alto Lario on the border with Switzerland and one in the upper Val Camonica, on the border with the Province of Trento. In addition to a probable couple in Valtellina (Aprica). On the Lombard Apennines, in the Oltrepò Pavese, the latest available data (2018) estimates the presence of at least 4-6 wolf packs. From 2014 to 2021 it was possible to find an increase in the presence of the species through the discovery of signs of predation on domestic and wild animals.
In addition to images and videos using photo-traps, footprints and tracks or other signs attributable to this carnivorous mammal. In addition to the discovery of wounded or dead wolves. Most of the signs of presence were detected in the areas of stable presence of the species, such as: the Alto Lario, the Alta Val Camonica and the middle Valtellina, Orobico side. However, there is an increase in reports, confirmed above all by predation and / or camera traps, of single individuals who have abandoned the herd of origin, also in other areas of the regional territory. In May 2021 an individual on the Rhaetian side of Valtellina (Val Fontana) probably coming from Switzerland; in 2020 single individuals in the provinces of Lecco, Lodi, Cremona and Mantua and in the Ticino park; in 2019 two wounded specimens, one found in the Naviglio Grande on the outskirts of Milan and one not far from Brescia.
The wolf is a species protected by national legislation and by the European Union, as indicated in the Habitats Directive of 1992 implemented by Italy on 8 September 1997. For this predator, the following prohibitions apply: capture, killing, disturbance, detention, transport, exchange and commercialization. The Lombardy Region participates, as part of the State-Regions Conference, in sharing the contents of the drafting National Action Plan for the conservation of the wolf, the first version of which dates back to 2015. The Plan is the national management tool of the species proposed by Ministry of the Environment (now Mite) and contains the necessary actions to implement its conservation and management. The tools are: monitoring, damage prevention, poaching, communication and information, in addition to the exceptions to the prohibitions on capture, disturbance and killing. However, the regions and autonomous provinces have not yet found a unanimous agreement on the contents.
In particular in the discipline of the criteria, conditions and methods of application of the exceptions to the prohibition of capture, killing and disturbance. Therefore Lombardy is also waiting to know the position of the Mite regarding the possible continuation of the confrontation. In the period 2012-2021 44 requests for compensation were processed which mainly concerned predations on sheep and goats, for a total of about 230 predated sheep and 30 goats. Three claims for compensation concerned predation on cattle: 6 heads in the province of Pavia and one predation on horses: 1 donkey in the province of Bergamo. In 2021 they declared 14 such events. In January, 14 sheep were preyed on in the Montevecchia Park, in May more than 20 sheep in Val Fontana. The requests for compensation in the period 2012-2021 involved, in decreasing order of number, the provinces of: Brescia, Pavia, Sondrio, Como and Bergamo for a total of approximately 37 thousand euros. The figure takes into account the requests for which the indemnity procedure has been completed. From an economic point of view, wolf damage is therefore much less than those caused by other wildlife species.
The wild boar, for example, albeit with annual fluctuations, causes an average of about 400.000 euros in damage per year. As for the damage, explained Raffaele Cattaneo: “Lombardy Region invests in prevention and support for the categories most impacted by the presence of the wolf. Thanks to funds from community projects Life Wolfalps, Life Wolfalps Eu and partly Life Gestire2020, in addition to regional funds ”. “Since 2016 - concluded the Councilor for the Environment and Climate - the Region has purchased and supplied to breeders 72 prevention tools. Mostly electrified fences, as well as 2 LGDs. Furthermore, it carries out continuous training and information activities, including on how to act in the event of damage from wolf predation ". In 2019, the Region activated funding for the first time within the Rural Development Program. It concerns the investments for the protection of agricultural and livestock production from wolves and bears (fences and LGDs). In collaboration with Ersaf, he therefore contributed to the drafting of a call which in 2019 allowed the financing of 59 applications for a total of 249.652,22 euros (Source: Lombardy region).