The Congress of Foligno
From the important III National Congress on the wild game meat supply chain, recently held at Palazzo Trinci in Foligno, on the initiative of the Italian Society of Ecopathology of Fauna, the Italian Association of Veterinary Hygienists and the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institutes, a very clear message emerged: the supply chain must be encouraged, because it has all the quality characteristics necessary to be valued and because the market The potential for naturally sourced meat is vast and would ensure the economic viability of the business for all actors, from hunters/operators, to intermediaries and consumers and restaurateurs. Game is already present on the menus of most of our local restaurants, but suffers from some weaknesses that need to be remedied, including the difficulty of finding it, deriving from the lack of awareness of one's role shown by the average Italian hunter: in the sense of unawareness that becoming primary producer of meat, through the training provided for by the Community regulations of the sector, would constitute an indisputable enhancement of his profile in the eyes of the community, as well as triggering a virtuous circle for the economy of short supply chains which are so fashionable today. In the case in question, however, it goes far beyond fashions.
Small sedentary game
Wild animal meat is the most genuine, healthy, digestible, rich in protein and low in fat circulating on the planet. We always talk about ungulates, but let's not forget the small sedentary game and the avifauna, for which the limitations to marketable species as established by Directive 2009/147/EC must in any case be kept in mind. These are not insurmountable obstacles, but certainly compliance with the rules, in any case important for the purpose of conserving the renewable resource made up of wildlife, is even more prevalent when the hygiene and wholesomeness of food destined for for human consumption. A context that requires the emergence of the black market for this meat, the existence of which cannot be denied or overlooked, so that news of mass poisoning or worse (as has already happened) is not read. Today, despite the recognized importance of this supply chain, the development of which would also offer a market to meat deriving from wildlife control activities (although this requires adjustments to current regulations), however, new figures would be needed, so far absent from both law 157/92 and by law 394/91, which for example the Extraordinary Commissioner of the PSA Vincenzo Caputo, would identify in the "bioregulators": wildlife operators, not only and not necessarily hunters, who professionally dedicate themselves to the collection of wild species requiring demographic or territorial control, protection of public health, crops and biocenoses themselves.
Swine fever emergency
Today, thoughts immediately turn to the wild boar, given the PSA emergency that is struggling to counteract, but this does not exclude other species of ungulates at all and not just those. In the meantime, the administrations (State and Regions above all) will have to make a greater effort towards intersectoral coordination, because it is neither reasonable nor sensible to proceed in watertight compartments, when good wildlife management requires cooperation between the different levels and the different skills required . In short, the new challenges for a healthier and more sustainable diet can also pass through hunting and game, provided that all interested parties, hunters in primis but not only them, accept the challenge with that pinch of enthusiasm and openness essential in facing each new adventure. (Palumbus) (source: ANUUM Migratoristi).