The meeting took place, the first in the new legislature, of "Regional table of participation and information for the management of wolves and large carnivores", established with the resolution of the Council n. 214/2017. During the meeting, data on the presence and impacts of large carnivores, in particular of the wolf, in Veneto in the last three years. Furthermore, the results of the research of Professor Marco Apollonio, full professor of the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Sassari, conducted between 2018 and 2021, as part of the "Project for the proactive management of the Wolf in Veneto by satellite telemetry ", Financed by the Veneto Region with € 294.000,00 (of which € 150.000 allocated in 2018 and a further € 46.000,00 granted for the realization of other activities in 2021). “The theme of large carnivores and wolves in particular is among those that strongly 'engage' the public administration, both politically and administratively - intervenes the regional councilor for hunting, Cristiano Corazzari -.
In Veneto we have witnessed a rapid distributional evolution of the species which brings with it important management challenges, from protection of grazing livestock and the safeguarding of traditional economic activities, the management of confident specimens, who are increasingly sighted near residential settlements. These are challenges that require regulatory updates, financial commitment and qualified human resources ". The commissioner Armorers He continues explaining: "If from a regulatory point of view we are witnessing in recent years, unfortunately, an impasse on important initiatives at national level, such as the approval of new wolf management plan and of the state aid scheme for the compensation of damages, within the limits of its competences the Veneto Region has implemented various actions. In fact, in recent years we have supported ordinary and experimental economic investments and management initiatives. The resources put in place were considerable, not just financial, on the part of the Region, but also human beings with a commitment of strong coordination with the bodies and institutional subjects involved in the monitoring and management of predators on the regional territory ".
The first settlement of the wolf in Veneto dates back to 2012 with the stable couple in Lessinia, following the natural dispersion phenomenon, characteristic of the species; in less than ten years the wolf population in the regional territory has grown and is now estimated at no less than 16 reproductive herds, (some falling partly also in the Trentino and Friuli territory) which now occupy the entire foothills in a stable form and part of the alpine area. The first stable presences are also recorded - in this case of solitary individuals - also in the territories of the Berici and Euganean Hills. At the same time, the damage caused by predation to grazing domestic cattle has increased over the years: in 2020 290 predatory events were counted and 813 heads were killed (of which 478 sheep and goats, 118 cattle, 55 donkeys), against which a total of € 290.678 of contributions were paid as compensation. The data of the first months of 7 2021 they seem to show a decrease in general terms of predatory events, although to date more than 200.000 euros have already been paid and paid as compensation.
The survey presented shows that it is above all the areas of the most recent settlement of new herds a discount the greater impact in terms of predation on domestic workers, while in the areas of consolidated presence the damage is stable or decreasing also due to the implementation of prevention measures. On the latter front, the allocation guaranteed by the Region in the three-year period 1,5-2019 under measure 2021 of the RDP is € 4.4.3 million, against which a total of n. 297 applications for a total of € 772.895 granted to cover 100% of the expenses incurred. The Table was an opportunity to preview the results of the innovative study of applied research of the University of Sassari with the support of the Veneto Region, the “proactive telemetry” project. The aim of the investigation is to field test experimental prevention systems never used before in Europe and to acquire data on the ecology of the wolf through satellite telemetry. As part of the project between the 2019 and the 2021 6 wolf specimens were captured, and 5 of them were fitted with a GPS collar capable of communicating the position (fix) and interacting with sensors positioned in livestock farms.
The sensors, together with the virtual fences, "virtual" fences designed around mountain huts and pastures, have made it possible to automatically signal through a message the approach of the wolf and activate a warning system with lights and sounds. The results of this telemetry study, the most important ever conducted at Alpine level, indicate that in the case of proximity sensors, in 89% of cases following the approach to the farm, the predator has given up on attacking, while for virtual fences the figure is 82%. The Veneto Region, in coordination with the University working group, sent MITE and ISPRA a documented request for a deterrent intervention through the use of rubber bullets, interventions never before implemented in Italy. Once the authorization has been obtained following a favorable opinion from ISPRA, and set up the intervention group made up of staff already trained from the provincial police of BL and VI, on 19 August the first dissuasion intervention against the alpha wolf was successfully carried out by agents of the Vicenza provincial police of the pack, equipped with a radio collar.
Thanks to the more than 27.212 position fixes transmitted by the wolf collars and the availability of the hunting world, within the project it was also possible to deepen the knowledge on the impact of the wolf on wild ungulates - 273 carcasses of prey identified and analyzed - highlighting significant differences between the various wolves, in terms of diet, predatory ability, prey selection, land use. These are data never previously collected on the Alps, which provide a realistic picture of theobjective impact of the wolf on wild and domestic, essential for setting management policies based on scientific data and not on pre-established ideological positions. The project will end with some training interventions, aimed at provincial police officers and other institutional operators, aimed at providing knowledge on methods of trapping wolves or any hybrids with dogs.