When, on July 9, Sabaudia turned yellow Coldiretti and was populated by farmers gathered to draw the attention of the bodies in charge of the problem of ungulates, Coldiretti Asti did not miss the appointment and, together with the regional mobilization, urged a concrete and rapid intervention to put an end to the dramatic problem of wild boars. Wild animals that, a little over a week ago, caused a road accident on the ring road of Asti, remained blocked for a long time for the rescue of injured people and the removal of the vehicles involved, including an ambulance. “The situation continues to be the same for our farmers heavy and maddening - now say the managers of the trade association - From January to today, Coldiretti Asti has forwarded to the ATC AT1 and AT2 as many as 763 applications for damage caused primarily by wild boars, but also roe deer, to farms (70% more than in 2020).
To these damages / numbers, we must add those of the concessionaires of private reserves and those of the other agricultural organizations ”. The total estimated damage affects an agricultural area, in the Asti area alone, of over 2.500 hectares. Particularly affected corn crops, meadows, vegetable gardens, hazelnut groves and vineyards. "Wild boars represent a serious damage that extends from agriculture to public and road safety, to the point of strongly threatening the economic future of our sector - recalls the president Coldiretti Asti Marco Reggio - also the rotation of the crop plan, with consequent repercussions on the ability to meet the needs of farms inside the companies and to ensure environmental sustainability and soil health.
It is unacceptable that after decades, characterized by repeated reports, mobilizations, damages and accidents, nothing has changed ”. “The invasion of wild boars has also become a social problem - continues the director Coldiretti Asti Diego Fury - from the woods to the countryside to the city, their progress is under everyone's eyes and the threats multiply, impacting heavily on public road safety as well. We would no longer want to open the newspapers e read about dramatic accidents; we would no longer want to see the exasperation in the faces of our farmers ”. With the opening of the new hunting season (from the beginning of October), the expectations towards hunters return to be high, called to reduce the ungulate population.
“We expect from hunters a great commitment, in compliance with the role of control, wildlife and the environment, to which they are called - specifies Luigi Franco, deputy director Coldiretti Asti with responsibility for wildlife - Coldiretti Asti will monitor their work and the progress of the hunting season. In absence of effective results we will deploy forces, tools and actions to recover balance, safety and protection of our agricultural productions ". “We believe that with the introduced possibility of self-defense and with the presence of adequately trained tutors, it must be possible to put an end to the wild boar problem concretely and definitively, overcoming the hot diatribe between hunters and farmers - adds Franco - We therefore renew the appeal to the competent institutions, such as ATC, the Province of Asti and Piedmont region, for a decisive intervention to protect road safety, the agricultural sector and the environment ". Coldiretti, therefore, makes 4 specific requests to the attention of the Piedmont Region and the State:
- immediate response to farmers' requests;
- support to farmers so that they are assisted by law enforcement, hunting guards, hunters and owners / conductors of funds registered in a specific regional list;
- extension of the hunting calendar to include the months from September to January;
- direction, at the prefectural level, of the actions of containment and withdrawal, in the light of the specific competence for the protection of public order and security (La voce di Asti).