Sicilian Association Hunting and Nature on the issue of the Sicilian Hunting Calendar and the favorable opinion of ISPRA: "For not knowing how to read ... or write".
From yesterday morning and up to the time of writing, two internet sites of as many hunting associations, boasting the recent collaboration of a revived Game Producer Authority, have issued a press release entitled: "Favorable opinion of ISPRA".
The above news refers to the opinion that ISPRA made on the draft hunting calendar released some time before by the same associations and by a local club of another national hunting association to which we intend to spread a merciful veil thanks to the esteem placed on its Regional President. We read in the press release that the favorable opinion of ISPRA would concern the pre-opening to rabbit and wood pigeon on 10st September and the closing of the wood pigeon on XNUMXth February.
Strangely, however, the text of the ISPRA opinion is not published, unlike the draft hunting calendar and the text of an amendment which, in the opinion of the signatories, should solve the problems of hunting in Sicily. Finally, the same associations reproach the other hunting associations that have defined "SPA" for "boycotting and denigrating" the draft hunting calendar through notices and letters sent to the armories.
Since there is the doubt of not knowing how to read or write, we will publish the opinion of the ISPRA, where it seems to us that it is clearly written that, according to the Institute, the hunt for wood pigeon should start on October XNUMXst (and not the first September). Furthermore, an explicit request is made to suspend the hunt for the Combattente and Moretta; The request is made to avoid pheasant hunting also in wildlife-hunting farms in order to escape common pathologies with the Rock Partridge;
They require the reduction of the hunting collection of the Tortora to three days in September, with total closure as of October 31st, they reduce the daily game bag to five head with a maximum of 25 head per year;
They ask for the opening of the Quaglia on the first of October;
They ask for the closure of the hunt for the song Thrush, Sassello Thrush and Cesena on 10 January;
They ask for the closure of the woodpecker hunt on 31 December;
They give a negative opinion on hare hunting and many other limitations that we are tired of listing.
Making a comparison between this opinion and the one made last year, it seems to us that this year ISPRA has been even more restrictive and we also understand why.
As for SCI and SPA, we report verbatim what ISPRA recommended in this opinion: "It is believed that the opportunity to submit to an impact assessment not only the wildlife-hunting planning tools, but also the regional calendars through a consultation with the competent regional offices.
Furthermore, the assessment of the impact of hunting on the conservation of each of the Natura 2000 sites should be carried out, site by site, with reference to the relevant form or the management plan if approved ".
ISPRA obviously starts from the assumption that the Plan has been approved, and nevertheless recommends the impact assessments; the Sicilian TAR, which instead knows the situation well, with two consecutive judgments (one already confirmed by the CGA) has imposed on the Administration the obligation to subject the hunting calendar to an impact assessment in the part in which it allows hunting in the Natura 2000 Network , precisely because the Plan is missing.
Now, we are sure that, finally putting aside the suggestions of the "heroes of the last day", we are sure that the new Councilor Aiello will be able to motivate, with the support of irrefutable scientific arguments, choices other than those recommended by ISPRA (mandatory opinion but not binding), longer hunting periods and more reasonable seasonal game bags; indeed, it would be enough to refer to the so-called key concepts approved by the EC and to the "Guide to the discipline of hunting in the context of Directive 79/409 / EC", from which the ISPRA Guide should draw inspiration, and which however provide less stringent limits to the hunting activity also for species such as quail, woodcock and wood pigeon.
We are also sure that Councilor Aiello will take note that the small "committees" of recent times have not brought anything good, given that in over a year they have not been able to approve a shred of the Wildlife Plan; finally, we are certain that the Regional Assembly, taking into account the recommendations of the ISPRA and the constant jurisprudence of the TAR, will be able to orient itself correctly in the emergency legislative choices to allow us to go hunting without worries.
Because this is an emergency which hunters and associations are not to blame, but which they have to deal with in order to find a reasonable solution.
Otherwise there is the risk of taking for a ride a category made up of honest people, who only ask to practice their passion with equal dignity compared to the rest of the Italian hunters; otherwise there is a risk that some local club, to increase the number of its members, will follow the advice of some messiah on duty, continuing to spread misleading messages and create expectations that will dissolve, inexorably, with the rains at the end of August.
Sorry for not being able to get on the winners' wagon and pay the ticket as someone clumsily wrote, let's go ahead, then, but with judgment.
Palermo, June 29, 2012
ASCN