Territory management
A severe blow looms for migratory bird hunting and land management in Tuscany. The new wildlife plan risks drastically reducing the number of fixed bird hides—through strict density limits, restrictions on movement, restrictions on ownership changes, and a halt to new authorizations—thus dismantling a management legacy that includes thousands of potentially affected hides. UCIM (Italian Migration Hunters Union)We express deep concern about a political and administrative choice that goes in the exact opposite direction to environmental protection.
Hunters give more than they take
Fixed bird stations are too often demonized by an ideological narrative lacking scientific foundation. The reality tells a completely different story: the station is not simply a place for sampling, but the fulcrum of an ongoing effort to restore habitats and conserve biodiversity.
Daily work
Thanks to the daily work, investments and passion of hunters, these areas benefit from:
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Active maintenance of microhabitats: Management of water levels in water clearings, selective pruning and containment of invasive vegetation.
Refuge and feeding oases: Creation of vital rest areas not only for huntable species, but for all migratory and protected birdlife, as well as amphibians and small mammals.
Territorial Protection: Combating environmental degradation, land abandonment, and hydrogeological instability in the most inland and disadvantaged areas.
“Hunters bring biodiversity: we give back to the land in terms of care, resources, and environmental restoration infinitely more than we take away from hunting.”
The request
While national scientific projects are focused on demonstrating the ecological value of fixed bird hides as true guardians of nature, Tuscany is considering bureaucratic restrictions. We urge the Region to immediately reverse course: biodiversity is protected by collaborating with those who live and protect the land every day, not by devising regulations to reduce their presence. Defending Tuscan bird hides means protecting the future of the environment and a millennia-old tradition. (UCIM – FEDERCACCIA)
