The Department of Welfare of the Lombardy region announced that the new regional plan for the eradication of otters will be approved by the end of 2018. There will therefore be time until next December to draw up the program, also because the topic has been at the center of attention of the local authority for over a year. Just twelve months ago there was a request for a extraordinary financing which covered the expenses related to the emergency.
The plan will have a total duration of three years, by 2018 to 2020 and already at the beginning of this year it was decided to have the containment activities continued by the bodies in charge. It was inspired by what was established by the Regional Law 32 of 2014, the one that attributes competences in various sectors to provinces and municipalities. However, the expenses incurred so far represent only a portion of the costs envisaged by the actual plan.
In addition, during 2015 and 2016, the same department allocated a figure equal to 675 thousand euros. Two years ago, the otters captured and disposed of were 50 thousand, while for last year the count is not yet official since the reporting will end precisely on 31st May. One of the areas most affected by the emergency is undoubtedly that of Mantua, but obviously not the only one.