The Italian Confederation of Farmers, Tuscany section, presented in Florence today a detailed Dossier concerning the ungulate emergency that has been affecting agriculture in the region for some time now.
The result is alarming to say the least: ungulates, including wild boars, “eat” 10 thousand euros of Tuscan agricultural production every day; almost a year ago the overall damage due to lost turnover in the agri-food sector was about four million euros.
The dossier speaks of countryside besieged by ungulates that threaten Tuscan crops: wild boars that have invaded the Maremma, roe deer rage in the Sienese countryside, mouflons devastate entire vineyards on the Giglio Island, the woods are destroyed by deer from the Pistoia mountains, thus causing serious economic and environmental damage. Quantifying in figures we are talking about about 300 thousand wild boars, even if the Region seems to have different data, 153 thousand would be roe deer, 8.800 fallow deer, 3.600 deer and 2.500 mouflons.
To the damage caused by ungulates are added, especially in Maremma, those of more and more frequent predatory raids by wolves to herds, as well as damage caused by non-huntable species.
We talk finally, the dangers to road safety caused by wild animals crossing the roads very often causing accidents and health dangers due to the fact that all these animals, turning undisturbed, are often carriers of parasites and infectious diseases.
In consideration of all the problems presented, the president of the Tuscan CIA, Giordano Pascucci, then specified, "In the ongoing discussion on the Regional Wildlife Plan it is necessary to promote a plan that marks a clear discontinuity with the past through a new wildlife management project 2012-2015 ".
Continuing, the president added, "Planning means developing a project that starts from identifying and quantifying problems to define objectives to reach, and the intermediate ones; the actions to be implemented, the methods for verifying the results ". Furthermore, Pascucci continues, "If you do not show the way, added the CIA president, if you do not guide the path it is completely useless to put numbers".
CIA hopes for a series of drastic interventions aimed at averting the excessive presence of ungulates in the countryside and in the woods favored by extensive protected areas and faunal institutes, therefore CIA Toscana is asking for a strong reduction in suitable areas as well as good planning of actions aimed at achieving sustainable densities in suitable areas and consequently eradicating them from unsuitable ones.
With these measures it would be possible to reduce the damage with a greater commitment to prevent them and thus be able to guarantee full compensation for the damage suffered by agriculture as well as manage all the fauna including non-huntable species.
Continuing his speech, Pascucci said “From the Tuscany Region we want clear addresses. The region after having adapted the law on wildlife management in recent years, equipping itself with tools that are finally suitable for efficient management, is called today, with the Regional Hunting Wildlife Plan, to fully implement those rules, moving with determination to restore wildlife, now out of control in many areas, and ensure the sustainability of agriculture. To do this we need discontinuity and courage in choices, determination in their implementation ".