Extension of the use of live calls, the decree published in the Official Gazette

This is the decision of the European Commission which waives the ban on the use of live decoys in hunting: it will remain in force until 31 December 2017.

On December 31st, the extension of a ten-year-old decision of the European Commission concerning the derogation from the ban on the use of certain decoy birds in hunting. These are the birds that are part of the orders of the anseriformes (including some types of geese) and of the charadriformes (such as woodcocks, gulls, terns and sandpipers). The ban was extended by Brussels on October 19th and will be valid in Italy until December 31st 2017. What does this mean exactly?

This decision provided for the possibility of waiving the ban on the use of live decoys in hunting by adopting rather strict surveillance measures. The derogation is suspended when the epidemiological situation worsens and becomes a serious health risk due to the spread of influenza viruses. Wild birds keep much of the avian influenza viruses in the environment, which then spread to intensive poultry farms, causing economic and health damage.

Migratory birds, on the other hand, spread the pathogen in populations of overwintering ducks. In addition, certain hunter behaviors may pose an additional risk to the spread of these viruses. This is why the use of birds as live calls in hunting can become a serious danger for the introduction of viruses from wild to domestic populations.

With the publication in the Official Gazette, the derogation from the ban is allowed in Italy until the end of 2017, provided that the conditions set by an operating protocol are respected. First of all, there is the question of traceability and traceability: to prevent the disease, birds used as live calls must be traceable and traceable. The hunters are asked for a specific document to ascertain the health condition of the birds and all their movements must be recorded. Everything must then be communicated to the Province to update the national database.

The other fundamental aspect is that of the so-called biosecurity. Bird flu can be prevented by separating live calls from domestic reared poultry. Consequently, the decoys are kept in different enclosures, both from a structural and functional point of view, compared to those of poultry. Hunters are obliged to avoid any type of contact between the decoys used in hunting: furthermore, their transport must take place in washable containers with a sealed bottom, to be used only for this reason. The birds found dead or killed at the end of the hunting season must be checked and subjected to autopsy and the necessary samples to search for influenza viruses.