Recognize the key role of hunting in protecting the environment, the common good of all. Claudio Tortooli, of the Environmental Hunting Association Born Free Perugia intervenes on the topic, much debated now in Umbria and beyond, of the management of wild animals. Tortoioli recalls that in not distant times the data Ispra (Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research) indicated Italy as "the treasure chest of Europe" for the number of species and quantity of wild animals present in their territory. "But not everything - he explains - is positive. The research shows a strong faunal imbalance, predators and ungulates prevail, even large animals, wild boars, to the detriment of mild and noble species.
Damage to crops, and dangers to traffic, including urban ones, are also heavy ”. Invasive species cause 12 billion damage to natural heritage every year in Europe (nutria is an eloquent example). Many emergencies that lack a univocal, homogeneous and decisive answer. National estimates give mind-boggling numbers for compensation for damage to crops and livestock. Millions of euros that could be spent in prevention and enhancement of the environment and biodiversity and support for agri-environmental practices that favor these objectives. “Hunting therefore - says Tortoioli - is much more than a traditional activity and a social fact. It is a main hub on which to build effective protection of the wildlife and environments.
We need to focus intelligently on the culture of the hunting world to carry out a management network, starting from the protection of agricultural crops, from damage to wildlife, authorizing the taking of harmful animals, even outside the hunting periods “. For Tortoioli the faunal imbalance is the consequence of rules “polluted by biased animal rights theses, which prohibit a serious and balanced containment and protection of biodiversity “. And it proposes a regeneration of the management of fragile habitats and noble species, which must be protected and protected "by the wise and capable hand of hunters", as was the case up to a few decades. "We - he claims - are the first ecologists in Italy, for wisdom, the result of experience handed down for generations, knowledge of the territory and love for nature, basic fundamentals to seriously apply for the management of fauna and the environment".
And he cites the example of Switzerland, where hunting in nature parks has been allowed for decades. “The motivation - he comments - is very simple and also logical: the affected area is very rich in game and hunting in these areas is an ancient and deeply rooted tradition. Furthermore, with the creation of the park it is feared that ungulates, wild boars, deer, roe deer and chamois could increase dramatically and cause damage to the forests “. “A fact - continues Tortoioli - that only in our country we try to deny. For example in the Parks of the Casentinesi and Abruzzo Forests the excessive presence of wild boars already damages forests, livestock and crops. And therefore the difficult family budgets of those who, with so many sacrifices, still preside over the many marginal mountain and hilly areas of our country “.
And similar examples are found in the US parks, on the Loire in France, where visitors find signs inviting them not to disturb the hunters. Germany, Austria, Hungary have for years authorized the containment of wild animals, harmful, dangerous, and predators continuously throughout the year. An example that for Tortoioli should be implemented quickly also in Umbria, which could thus become a garden taken as an example. "We hope the unity of hunters - the appeal of Nata Libera Perugia - without speculation and obstacles to the emancipation of the Italian hunting world, responsibly attentive to all problems caused by wildlife ". “No further welding - warns Tortoioli - with ideological animalism, which has always caused damage to economic, hunting and rural activities. The time is ripe - he concludes - for the exclusion also from the management committees of the territorial hunting areas "(Still today).