The story
A major victory for Calabrian hunters and a significant achievement for the entire Italian hunting community. What happened in recent days is not a one-off incident, but the result of long, consistent, and painstaking work that Federcaccia has been carrying out for years through an increasingly structured legal, technical, and scientific "chain" that intervenes in disputes throughout Italy to defend hunting and hunters. The case began on August 12, with the notification of the appeal filed by the Earth Association against the Calabria Region's hunting calendar, specifically against the early opening of the wood pigeon hunt. On August 13, Federcaccia Calabria immediately appeared in court, initially raising a challenge to the legitimacy of the procedural procedures used to file the appeal.
Public proclamations
On this first important formal issue, the Regional Administrative Court of Calabria upheld the arguments raised by Federcaccia Calabria. The August 19 ruling recognized the validity of the issue regarding the failure to notify due to "public proclamations," requiring immediate notification by the appellants of the ruling, along with further formalities, and setting a September 2 deadline for subsequent decisions. This is far from a secondary step, as it affected the very foundations of the proceedings initiated by the Earth Association.
The disputes
At the same time, Federcaccia has also prepared its defense on the merits, challenging, both factually and legally, the arguments underlying the appeal and maintaining the full legitimacy of the decisions made by the Calabria Region regarding the hunting calendar, and specifically the legitimacy of the pre-opening wood pigeon hunt. Further strengthening this framework, pending the proceedings, was the valuable and crucial ruling of the Council of State regarding the Marche Region's 2025/2026 hunting calendar, obtained following the appeal filed by Federcaccia with briefs by Attorney Alberto Bruni.
Milestone
This ruling represents another milestone, further cementing the Federation's long-standing work through previous favorable rulings obtained before the Regional Administrative Courts (TAR) and the Council of State. These rulings consolidate the fundamental principles upon which the Federation has fought to ensure the legitimate exercise of hunting, against frequent and unjustified restrictions. This process also includes substantial orders and rulings obtained in the recent past, including from the Regional Administrative Court of Calabria, safeguarding previous hunting seasons. These decisions were decisively supported by briefs and technical contributions provided by Federcaccia, its lawyers, and its Research Office.
The withdrawal of the precautionary measure and the decisive turning point
The succession of these elements—the formal challenges, the technical and legal objections on the merits, the arguments relating to the wood pigeon, and the recent ruling by the Council of State—has created a profoundly different picture from the initial one. In this context, on August 28, the Earth Association withdrew its request for a precautionary suspension. Following this decision, Federcaccia Calabria immediately filed a detailed motion for revocation, which was followed by those of the other regional hunting associations. All this meticulous work from August 13 to today has been crucial to the outcome achieved, thanks to the invaluable work of attorneys Biagio Di Vece and Domenico Furfaro, and to the procedural strategy, with repeated and timely interventions through briefs and objections submitted during this proceeding. This is a highly significant result, which, as we mentioned, adds to other rulings and orders obtained over time in Calabria and Italy, confirming the validity of a long-term strategy, grounded in legal, technical, and scientific expertise.
Wood pigeon hunting is on September 2nd
Today we have one thing certain: on September 2nd, Calabrian hunters will be able to hunt wood pigeons, preventing the unfair denial of the season for a species of great hunting interest. Furthermore, wood pigeons enjoy a favorable conservation status, as evidenced by scientific data and ISPRA opinions in recent years. This is a significant victory, especially for the Calabrian hunting community, but Federcaccia considers it yet another act of commitment, part of the ongoing daily work on various issues related to hunting and agro-environmental management. Further insights on this and other issues of great interest to the Calabrian hunting community will be provided in the coming days. Pleased with this result, the Regional Council of Federcaccia extends a heartfelt and heartfelt "good luck" to all Calabrian hunters for the start of the hunting season, hoping it will be peaceful, profitable, and above all, experienced safely and in full compliance with the rules (Federcaccia Calabria Press Office).
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