Grouse - Writing about it, now that the "King" has been relegated to the limbo of oblivion, is a great suffering for me. Not out of vain nostalgia, but for the memory of the heroic times committed to defending this ecological monument.
From the analysis of the events that have characterized the life of Valcanale since ancient times, it is clear that the greatest risk for the Grouse it was represented by the phenomenon of anthropization. A few recent testimonies will suffice. In the 70s / 80s, on the occasion of the legislative revision of the ex-Yugoslavia, the greatest attention was paid to the conservation of the forest, even extensively in the points of frequentation of the Gallo. The Alto Adige newspaper of Bolzano wrote on March 22, 1995: “it is enough for Gallo Cedrone to notice a photographer who tries to take him or in winter a skier who practices ski mountaineering, to create the conditions for death”.
Hubert Haring, expert hunter of the Tarvisiano area (we called it “the living fauna encyclopedia”), so he reported - speaking of Cedroni - in “Valcanale Verde n. 3 of 1986 (and on which we will have the opportunity to return): "A real proof of high consideration for the environment was given by Mr. Kraner Martino senior, of Aclete, who, urged by the commander of the forest station to provide for the killing of the plants assigned to him for cutting, he replied: fifty more trunks or fifty less trunks do not make me rich or even poor; sorry to remove favorite plants from Galli for their singing and I seem to take their bedroom away for their honeymoon! "
Having made these brief premises, it must immediately be said that the hunt for the Capercaillie (as well as at the Gallo Forcello) in the Tarvisio area, singing has always been held, in spring, in May. Centennial tradition, confirmed at the beginning of the XNUMXth century by the King of Saxony, who rented the Forest, a true fan of this hunt. And from then to the end of the century (for the Cedrone a decade less), hunting has always only taken place in May, by singing. Few rules, but clear. Small numbers and well controlled (in sixty years of systematic culling, an average of one Rooster / year); assignment head by head, area by area to the individual members of the Reserve; systematic control by the Director of the Reserve and the Gamekeeper. From spontaneous and traditional management, the hunt for singing was - and still would be - a “technical necessity” due to the indispensable uniformity of interventions with those practiced in Yugoslavia (now Slovenia) and Carinthia. Same woods, even if on opposite sides, same populations. Despite the persistent adversity of the so-called protectionists, we have always managed, thanks to these "technical needs", to obtain the necessary authorizations.
In the 80s, hostilities with opponents of this type of intervention intensified. The main interlocutor, Professor Paolo De Franceschi, who had the merit of making us investigate the subject. On our side, the fact that the very land where hunting for singing had always been practiced only and exclusively represented (and represent) the places where the Gallo Cedrone suffered less risk of degradation than elsewhere. As well as authoritative reports from the University of Vienna and writings by illustrious scholars, such as the Professor Ghigi, among other things, founder of INBS (later INFS, now ISPRA), who in his book "Hunting"Of 1963, is expressed as follows:
" for the grouse, in the mountain reserves, the only means of repopulation lie in the suppression of predators, especially foxes, and, as regards Urogallo and Gallo Forcello, in the elimination of excess males during the month of May, since the male in love spoils several broods " .
In the end, the common sense and maturity of our regional administrators (let's quote them: Comelli, Biasutti, Lenardi, Ermanno) led to the inclusion in regional law 14 of 1987 also the spring hunt to the song of the Capercaillie and Forcello! With due guarantees. It did not last long. With a coup worthy of the best legislative piracy, taking advantage of the fact that the hunters were super busy in the referendum events, in just one month a green regional councilor (who among other things, despite being an engineer, did not know the difference between real law of servitude and civic use!), supported by the regional manager on duty, succeeded in having the rules in question repealed. And we plunged back into the abyss. "Without prejudice to local traditions, customs and habits!" But when ever! The loophole of the derogation remained. But the Region opposed the fact that the Regional Wildlife Plan had not yet been published: what should be derogated from? Today, sadly, it seems that the Tarvisio Hunters have abandoned their weapons.
All that remains, therefore, is a revival through the quotation of some reflections of our friend Haring (remember? The living fauna encyclopedia, today unfortunately ... .. absent) .. "Today the hunter goes to the woods and mountains with an intention very different from prey, which is the protection, defense and safeguarding of game. "
As for the Gallo Cedrone, there are “main singing places (Hauptbalzplatz) and some secondary singing places. In the former there are hens ... The rooster hunters take themselves repeatedly to the main crowing places to identify any roosters suitable for slaughter .... The old rooster (baruffone, main prey, most often infertile), has a very silent song, interrupted by long pauses…. very tiring hunting: 24 nights a member in a single season, 21 another etc. In any case, about fifteen outings are a very normal thing. "
And so we are left with the images and sounds of the Hochbalz, of the Tiefbalz, of the Klepfen, of the Triller, of the Hauptschlag, of the Schleifen, while we follow almost incorporeal our guide towards the increasingly distant and increasingly fascinating call of our Grouse. Abrupt awakening: before dinner, “Free Fall”, a light program after much brooding. Well? Question, fatal among other things to the competitor: "His feathers adorn the Bersaglieri hat". Silent scene. Official response of the authors: Gallo Cedrone ”. Poor Italy!.
Good luck!