Law proposal
The news that Parliament will consider the bill "Regulations for the Protection of Equines and Their Recognition as Pets," presented by the Hon., has already sparked heated reactions among ordinary citizens as well as industry professionals. Michele Vittoria Brambilla (We Moderates), president of LIDAA, which has begun its process in the Chamber of Deputies' Agriculture Committee, and has been joined by proposals signed by the Honorable Susanna Cherchi of the Five Star Movement and the Honorable Luna Zanella of Avs. This law, if approved, would equate horses, donkeys, and mules with dogs and cats, effectively banning their use for food production and consumption. "After the rabbit, now the horse is being brought to Italians' attention as a new pet, banning and sanctioning its consumption. The method is the usual one: leveraging emotion to launch yet another attack on rural life and its traditions," commented the National President of Federcaccia, Massimo Buconi.
Federcaccia's position
Although the horse is obviously not a huntable species and therefore not directly within the scope of hunting interests, Federcaccia has chosen to intervene to protect an integrated rural ecosystem. The horse is at the heart of an invaluable historical and folkloristic heritage, ranging from major popular events like the Palio di Siena—long under attack from animal rights activists—to the local gastronomic traditions that characterize entire regions of Italy, from Lombardy to Veneto to Puglia. Legislatively transforming the horse or one of its "cousins" into a "living room member" means severing the age-old bond between man, animal, and the land. "I think the situation is well summed up in a statement I recently read, amidst the many opposing voices from within parliament itself, which calls the proposal an intervention that risks undermining long-standing traditions and a productive fabric that operates in full compliance with the regulations," continued President Buconi.
The damage to the manufacturing sector
Although the proposed law provides facilitation for livestock farming's transition to other forms of employment, the damage to the production sector appears inevitable. "Without the livestock supply chain and the economic value associated with breeding," Buconi emphasizes, "the very interest in breeding and raising these animals would be lost. The paradox has been served: in the name of ideological protection, the horse would end up becoming a rare animal, a luxury good that very few could afford to maintain, disappearing from our countryside and from the daily lives of ordinary people. Furthermore, this would open the door to the consumption of its meat, imported from countries with lower safety and care standards than ours, or worse, illegally." Federcaccia reiterates that true animal protection comes through the promotion of controlled supply chains and respect for rural traditions, not through bans that ignore the country's economic and cultural reality. “The hope that this bill will remain just another ideological forcing by a party that, despite its propagandistic claims, remains a decidedly minority among Italians and their parliamentary representatives, is certainly not in this case a category defense, but a clear and for us sacrosanct protection of Italy's rural identity and livestock biodiversity” concludes the President of Federcaccia.
You May Also Like ..
