Closing date
The Council of State in jurisdictional capacity (Sixth Section) issued on 13 January the Ordinance on the appeal, general register number 9497 of 2025, proposed by the Italian Hunting Federation, with which – the only Hunting Association to have done so – it had presented an appeal against the sentence of the TAR Marches which had imposed the closure of the hunting of Thrushes and Woodcocks until January 10. Granting the preliminary injunction, the Council of State suspended the contested ruling and set a public hearing for July 2, 2026, to discuss the merits.
Regularity of the procedural process
The argument, long and vigorously advocated by the Italian Hunting Federation, that the ISPRA opinion should not be given precedence over the CTFVN's seems to have finally been accepted. Indeed, while the former is self-referential and essentially confined to an internal evaluation of the Institute, the CTFVN, in compliance with Law 241/1990, both through its composition, which ensures the presence of all stakeholders, and through its discussions with the Regions, which take place over multiple sessions, guarantees the regularity of the procedural process and full participation. It follows that the Region has full discretion, between the two divergent opinions, to adhere to the CTFVN's opinion at its discretion and adopt it, fulfilling the strong rationale that justifies the deviation from ISPRA's opinion and legitimizes the decisions adopted with the Hunting Calendar.
Efforts rewarded
"Once again, we see the efforts of the sole actors in protecting the certainty of the regional hunting calendars and the legitimate expectations of hunters being rewarded," commented President Massimo Buconi upon learning of the Ordinance's content. "I now hope that the Marche Region will immediately take note of the Council of State's Ordinance and therefore urgently revoke the Regional Council resolution that complied with the TAR ruling, restoring the closing dates for thrushes and woodcocks to January 31, as originally envisaged in the Hunting Calendar. I take this opportunity to once again thank the lawyer Alberto Maria Bruni, who represented and defended us in court, and the National Research and Studies Office for the technical and scientific input necessary to support our requests," concluded President Buconi.
Legitimate calendar
Federcaccia Nazionale and Federcaccia Marche have once again demonstrated that they are the only hunting association investing in research and legal protection to maintain the hunting season dates as per Law 157/92, deeming them fully consistent with Directive 147/2009/EC and its interpretative documents. With this result, the Marche Region Hunting Calendar is proven legitimate in all its aspects, from huntable species to the pre-opening and closing dates, as Federcaccia Marche and Federcaccia Nazionale have always maintained (source: Federcaccia).
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