Coldiretti Turin: "Stop the rebound of responsibility on wild boars"

There is no excuse for them - few selecontrollers, insufficient resources or lack of coordination between entities.

The wild boars have devastated the polyphite meadows of the pastures of the Nicoletta company, in the Rovarnero region, a Settimo Vittone. The farmer Jari Nicoletta, 42, reports: «The wild boars have devastated ten Piedmontese days of polyphite permanent meadows, mowing and pastures. As always, we went up to the mountain pasture in mid-April. Since mid-May i boars they rooted the sward. Then they continued to do damage all summer until today. Boar raids have intensified. They hit our meadows, like those of the whole valley. We are inAlto Canavese, on the border with Valle D'Aosta ». «I don't like to complain - Jari Nicoletta snaps -. Until there were not many wild boars and they were rooting a few square meters of mountain meadows the damage could also be tolerated and remedied by rearranging the turf.

And so we have always done. But now the situation has gotten out of hand. This is also confirmed by the technicians of the Alpine area, who went up to detect the damage. When it rains, runoffs arise from the rooted meadows, which damage the meadows. In recent years, the damage caused by wild boars has been increasing. L'coronavirus emergency then it further worsened the situation ». Jari Nicoletta continues: «The meadows of our mountain pasture climb up steep slopes, where the heads of the Red Pezzata Valdostana graze. The cattle produce good milk which our cooperative dairy Nicoletta transforms into fresh raw milk cow cheeses - the tomini, the reblec, the robiole, the crescenza - and seasoned - the toma rovarnerina, in honor of the Rovarnero mountain pasture, the quatrefoil, a typical taleggio cheese aged in a cave or the grinch, a hard aged cheese 18-24 months. We also produce fresh pasteurized organic milk, butter, yogurt, ricotta and salignun.

All products for sale in the farm shop, in the various purchasing groups and in the producers' markets in Rivarolo, Castellamonte, Pont Saint Martin and in our farmhouse, La Ciuenda, here in the Rovarnero region »« We have been breeders and processors for two generations. Today in the company, in addition to me, my father Mauro, born in 1957, my sister Alice, 33, two employees and a hand also comes from my daughter Giulia, 17, a student - explains Jari Nicoletta -. If my grandparents came back today and saw this territory devastated by wild boars I don't know how they would take it… certainly not too well. I would like to add a few other things.

In the end we have to say it: wild boars were not born here: they were introduced and today the situation got out of hand. We can not even more of certain speeches of the huntersi who come to tell us that it is not convenient for them to kill wild boars because they only get 5 euros per kilogram of wild boar meat. All this while the cows at the end of their career, for slaughter, are paid just 1,20 euros per kilogram. I also struggle to endure certain speeches of citizens, living room environmentalists, who are scandalized if the wild boars are killed, but are completely unaware of the real situation of us on the mountain pastures ». «One thing is certain and evident - adds Jari Nicoletta -. In recent years someone has not done their duty.

On the table of the accused I put it the Alpine District, the Metropolitan City of Turin and the Piedmont Region. I also say that the reprimands of responsibility and all the blameworthiness - of one who says it is the fault of the other - do not help us to stem the invasion of wild boars. The reality is that there are too many wild boars today. They are putting the existence of agricultural activity at risk. There are no excuses that they hold - few selecontrollers, insufficient resources or lack of coordination between entities -: if you want to stop the invasion of wild boars you have to kill them. And, please, let's hurry up this time ... "(Source: Coldiretti).