The anger is intact, the pain will struggle to go away, but for Andrew Lo Cicero, former cover pylon ofitalrugby become a television man and testimonial of many charitable initiatives, the time has come to take action. The nightmare day he lived in his company in Nepi, province of Viterbo, it is not canceled; Zaira, the pack leader of a group of Ragusan donkeys, was killed before her eyes and those of her son, by a wild boar hunter. The video of the agony posted on social media has been around the web, the tears and anger they had the effect of a devastating tackle multiplied by a thousand and now, as a good rugby player, the time has come to get up and go and score a precious goal.
A family member «I don't do it out of a spirit of revenge - says Lo Cicero while with a metal detector he's still searching the lawn for the bullet that pierced Zaira's heart - nor do I want to exploit my being a well-known character. Here our privacy is at stake, the freedom to be able to live in the countryside, respect for others. That morning with my wife we had decided to take the baby to take a walk on the Via Francigena that passes in front of our company, then since there was a great movement of hunters we chose to stay in the garden. And there we risked our lives ».
The hunter shot at 70 meters from the house, Zaira collapsed on the spot: «He justified himself by making believe that it was a mistake, but the accuracy of the shot, fired to kill, contradicts him. We were there, I think my son (18 months, ed) will not easily forget that moment. And I will never forget the other 5 disoriented donkeys, their terror. They are incredible social animals, they live with us, sometimes they enter the house. It is no coincidence that we have started an onotherapy project with them to help children with difficulties. You should see how they interact, how they understand. The results are outstanding. They wanted to kill a boar, they killed a relative of mine inside a fence ». Attempted murder The hunter was reported and the Carabinieri confiscated his weapon. But Lo Cicero does not stop, his becomes a battle for the future: «Together with me, all the associations are filing complaints about what happened. I made one for attempted murder of my family and one for murder. Besides, Zaira was one of the family group ».
In the Viterbo countryside Lo Cicero has an agricultural company, 13 hectares where saffron is produced, didactic activities are carried out with schools, pets are raised: «We wanted to produce donkey milk, then when I realized that the males would end up in the slaughterhouse, I blocked everything. I just can't kill animals. ' A law for those who live in the countryside Now Lo Cicero hopes that something will change, that it is no longer possible to leave the house with a rifled barrel carbine, dangerous up to 2 kilometers, and go around in the middle of the houses and for this he wrote to the Minister of the Environment Sergio Costa, to promote a law that protects the right to live in the countryside and to love animals: "I we would very much like to start discussing a proposal to protect our privacy, it is not possible that in 2020 we can still go around armed and put the health of others at risk. I make myself available to the minister and with me the hundreds of associations that have shared my sorrow. It would be nice to have a "Zaira" law. Only then would I be able to make sense of his sacrifice "(The Corriere della Sera).