The hunt or cacciarella is a boar hunting technique, which consists in that combined action of men and dogs that lead to the discovery of the boar and its subsequent killing.
The hunt or cacciarella is a boar hunting technique, which consists in that combined action of men and dogs that lead to the discovery of the boar and its subsequent killing. The difference between hunted o chase it it only concerns the number of participants: higher in the first than in the second. A few hours before the hunt, three or four experienced members of the team of hunters, the so-called "traccini", go to delimit the affected area of the hunted by placing themselves on the fresh left by the boar.
This operation needs to be carried out after a period of rain, since the traces to be followed are more evident; in the event that the earth is not wet, but dry, the traccini follow the track through the aid of a dog on a leash, which thanks to its olfactory qualities, manages to circumscribe the area where the boar.
In the moment in which the team has gathered and is full, the huntsmen establish the stalking and places where to release the dogs. The positions in which the team members will be located, called "posed“, They are 25-28 meters apart from each other, so as to make each person visible and forming a semicircle. The distance can vary significantly in positive or negative also and above all in relation to the visibility of the terrain. It is essential that every man assigned to a post knows exactly the position of his teammates: the shooting line is in front of or behind the post line in order to maintain maximum safety for everyone. The assignment of the posts must be impartial using precautions: for example, placing a rookie next to expert posts who will be able to guide and help him.
The huntsman, for his part, must know the number of posts that are used to close the whole area; if they are insufficient, it is preferable to tighten the perimeter of the stop rather than leave long sections uncovered.
On the opposite side the canai or canettieri are arranged and on the other the braccali or beaters, in order to delimit a large area.
Beaters are not used by all teams but often by those made up of many people (more than 40). They are often canai that that day must not untie dogs. Their task is to close the points where there are no posts and direct the boars towards the latter, they do so screaming and firing blanks. They can be moved to the territory where they are most needed depending on the performance of the joke. Another task for them is that in the case of the boar he manages to overcome the line of the beaters, they must retrieve the dogs and not let them pass so as not to let them go out hunted.
As for the canai, they are people with great experience and familiarity with the bush, great enthusiasts for the hunting and they are obviously the owners of the dogs to which they dedicate a lot of time not only during the hunting period, but throughout the year for training, care and maintenance. They must know very well the territory in which the joke takes place. For the canai the fundamental thing is to find the animal and encourage it to flee to the post office. The canaio must find the animal and direct it to the post office without trying in every way to shoot it at a standstill or intercept it in the race, as there would be the risk of diverting it and making it go out of the way.
When everyone has taken their positions and are ready, the huntsman blows the horn to which the sound of the canaio or canettiere horn responds. The joke or hunted can begin.
The shipyards release the dogs and encourage them to locate their prey; later, the shipyards go to the post office. When the dog can smell the passage of the boar or “passed”, it barks until it reaches the listra. Once the wild boar has been found, the foreman barks at a standstill: It should be emphasized that the dogs bark when following the animal; they bark when the animal remains in its own listra, or when it stops during the beat; in the latter case, it often happens, the boar attacks dogs. If the dogs bark in canizza, this signal is to be interpreted as an attempt by the wild to escape, going either towards the post office, or towards the "braccali" which have the task of frightening the animal with deafening noises at the order to push it towards the "post office". in the first case it is easier to be knocked down than in the second.
Sometimes the older boars are so cunning that instead of heading towards the post office, where silence reigns, they hurl themselves against and break the encirclement of the dogs, canai and braccali, as if they were aware that on the opposite side a trap.
If a hunter from the "stalls" "frying" him, the animal comes out of the encirclement and the dogs, in a quick run, chase him until they make it. At this point the beaters remain in religious silence, waiting for the dogs to be able to bring the boar back into the beat or semicircle. When a wild boar is "frying" that is when a series of shots are fired that do not hit the target, the expulsion loses its bite and everyone remains stationary in their places awaiting the return of the dogs.
In any case, to avoid firing empty shots, it is advisable to always wait an extra second or two before firing; if the boar is "frying", it is very likely that it will be able to escape, as it has much more resistance than dogs in the race.
At the end of the hunt, the huntsman blows the horn which is the signal for the end of the hunt. If you do not have the horn, you can blow powerfully and in a particular way into the reeds of the rifle until obtaining a kind of long and harmonious sound.
If the wild boar is killed, it is divided among all the participants in the hunt so that everyone can get satisfaction from the hunting day.
Years ago, there was a tradition in some parts of Italy that the most valuable part, the leg, was assigned to the one who had killed the wild boar, while the head to the traccini or canai and the rest was divided equally between the hunters.
The testicles, considered a delicious morsel, were assigned to the one who managed to arrive first on the prey, which generally was the one who had scored the blow.
The technique of wild boar hunting of hunted o chase it it is a lot of fun for every member of the team, but it requires experience and seriousness for a good result.
Many advise all participants to wear jackets with very bright colors to be easily identifiable.
Good fun!!
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