Appeals and counter-appeals
Never in Piemonte we could have imagined that an entire category of hunters would be left at home, the day after the start of their season. After the troubled years of battles to defend the rights of hunters (all hunters, mind you, and not just a part of them!), we were convinced that it was over, and the season of environmentalists' appeals now behind us. And instead it happened again, just this year, a real bolt from the blue with the hunting season already started, almost a blitz by a handful of animal-animalists who filed a late appeal, aided by the hasty decision of a President of the TAR Piedmont who probably took such a serious measure without knowing the situation well. We do not want to go into the merits of the matter now because there will be plenty of time to do so later, but what happened certainly deserves some reflection. Let's recap the facts.
A troubled season
On October 4, we learned that the day before, the TAR, with a Presidential Decree, had accepted the request for a precautionary measure “ante causam” proposed by three environmental associations, suspending the entire 2024/25 hunting calendar. Panic and confusion in everyone, hours of feverish contacts between the Region, Hunting Areas and Alpine Districts, Hunting Associations, even audio messages from key figures in these realities, which bounced on WhatsApp, in which it was explained that at that moment there were two possibilities: to close everything, or only a part of the activity, almost as if negotiations were underway and a choice had to be made; after all, Andreotti often said it: it is a sin to think badly, but… At this point, the TAR changed everything, publishing a new Decree in which, at the request of the Region, it was specified that the suspension of hunting activity was limited to only three huntable species of typical Alpine fauna (mountain pheasant, rock partridge and ptarmigan), and to the tufted duck. Almost everyone was happy (except, obviously, the Alpine hunters), because the rest of the hunt could continue.
Collegial treatment
On October 18th the appeal was then presented, and finally its content could be known, but the request was always to suspend the entire calendar. The TAR, however, was firm in its positions and rejected it, maintaining however the precautionary measures against those four species, and setting November 19th as the date for the collegial hearing. Hunting seemed safe, at least until that day, even if honestly the appeal does not seem as solid as we had initially believed, but in any case our friends who hunt with passion in the mountains of Piedmont will most likely have to dedicate themselves to something else this year, penalized by a story where now everyone is trying to absolve themselves, or are singing victory when instead the defeat should burn on the skin of all those who call themselves hunters. The TAR will certainly have made a mistake, and the appellants have abused in a specious manner the legal instruments made available by our judicial system, but they have certainly found... the doors open! Whose fault it is, we will see, but certainly the undersigned Hunting Associations, who were not warned of the danger represented by the initiative of animal rights activists and environmentalists, and had to learn the news of the first instance only from newspapers and social media, are not having it, and will take action to ensure that the affair does not have further repercussions.
The dark moments of the hunt
Let it be clear to everyone that when it comes to defending hunting and hunters we are not inclined to back down or to flatter those in power, but we are not even willing to take lessons from anyone, especially because we were in the square in Turin on June 8, 2018 together with thousands of other enthusiasts who came from all over Italy, while here in Piedmont others preferred to stay at home! And then during the meeting between the Region and Hunting Associations on October 15, and we know it because we were there, although it is now denied, others proposed a negotiation with the environmentalists by giving up a couple of species: ptarmigan and tufted duck. Now, however, we must look ahead and make a common front, committing the Region to comply with all those provisions that can make a hunting calendar unassailable, starting precisely from that Regional Wildlife Plan that we have been urging for many years, and for which there can no longer be any excuses of any kind, and not even further delays in time. Finally, we expect that from now on the Hunting Associations will be consulted regularly, all of them and not just some, but also listened to when they submit problems or propose useful solutions to avoid certain errors being repeated in the future. In Piedmont, hunting has experienced dark times, and we would not like to see them again – The Regional Presidents: David Parola (ANLC), Fabrizio Lenzi (Enalcaccia), Remo Calcagno (Arci Caccia)
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