La hunting notwithstanding the starling, authorized in the provinces of Bari and Brindisi, is an absolutely positive measure. Cia-Italian Farmers of Puglia expresses satisfaction with the decision ratified by the Puglia Region. Our organization, together with other agricultural associations, within the regional wildlife-hunting committee, has long been asking for this choice to be formalized and put in black and white as has happened in recent days. There hunting notwithstanding does not solve the problem, but it is certainly an important tool to start countering a phenomenon, that of the damage that starlings cause to agriculture, increasingly serious and unsustainable ". Giannicola D'Amico, regional vice president of Cia Puglia and member of the regional wildlife-hunting committee, expresses with these words his satisfaction and appreciation for what Puglia region has made official, allowing hunting in derogation of the starling.
“In some areas of Puglia, in particular those of Bari and Brindisi, the transfers have already caused damages for millions of euros. Only one bird is capable of eating 20 grams per day of olives, this makes us understand what the damage could be caused by millions of specimens throughout the olive-growing campaign. Their manure often makes horticultural crops no longer collectable or edible, dirty rural buildings, causing additional costs of thousands of euros. Furthermore, with climate change the transfers have become permanent, a circumstance that further aggravates the situation. Hunting in derogation will at least be useful to put a stop to the uncontrolled proliferation of starlings.
It is necessary to re-establish a balance between the increasingly numerically significant presence of wildlife and the needs of agriculture: respecting nature, in fact, also means restoring sustainable environmental and cultivation conditions. It would be desirable to extend hunting notwithstanding the starling to other areas of the region where the phenomenon is present, therefore we ask that the surveys and scientific monitoring, which are preparatory and indispensable to support the waiver, are also carried out in other areas of Puglia ".