There has been a strong commitment to combat illegal killing of birds and there have been notable improvements in many European countries. For FACE, illegal killing is not just a conservation issue, it damages the reputation of sustainable hunting. That's why we promote the zero tolerance in line with the position of the EU institutions and various international agreements. Associations belonging to FACE in Italy have actively participated in a program to stop the illegal killing of wild animals in the country. Italy is currently the only EU Member State with an Action Plan against the illegal killing of birds and wildlife.
The Plan has been operational for over four years and all Italian hunting associations are actively involved in its implementation. Together, these Associations are represented on the Steering Committee of the Ministry for Ecological Transition. The current Plan provides for a series of actions and objectives to combat poaching in the country, in particular in the seven areas identified as "black spots". The four main objectives of the action plan are:
- Strengthening of the environmental police force. This force includes around 9.000 professional guards and 4.000 volunteers from hunting association personnel. Poachers using poisoned baits have long been a problem in Italy, so the Anti-poison Dog Units have been strengthened and a National Online Portal against Animal Poisoning has been established. This service provides accurate situation maps across the country.
- Initiatives aimed at making the activities of the supervisory bodies more effective and contrast. On the legal front, an amendment to Law no. 157/1992 to make the supervisory and control activity even more effective.
Prevention of poaching acts through awareness and information campaigns in the mass media and in schools, with the aim of acting on the root causes of the offenses. In this sector, the hunters' associations are very active in preventing the faunal and social damage produced by poachers. In fact, poachers generally operate for commercial purposes, use prohibited means, act in periods of prohibition of hunting and often within protected areas (parks, reserves, oases, repopulation areas). - Monitoring of the implementation of the Action Plan, through the collection of data and the preparation of annual reports to describe the trend of illegal activities and evaluate the effectiveness of the enforcement actions implemented.
Another element of the plan encourages measures to prevent and compensate for wildlife damage to agricultural production. This is to prevent illegal "self-defense" actions to counter damage. To achieve this goal, it is pointed out that Italy employs tens of thousands of volunteer hunters. In both protected and regular areas, these hunters play a vital role in controlling problem species such as wild boars, nutria, corvids, foxes and many others. Proper training of new hunters and refresher courses for experienced hunters are essential to achieve these goals, for example to make them more aware of the damage caused by poaching and to promote effective social prevention. These courses are widely held by all hunting associations in Italy.
Finally, the participation of the Italian Federation of Hunting (FIDC) to two biodiversity conservation projects that include specific campaigns against the illegal killing of wildlife. The LIFE PERDIX project "Reintroduction of the Italian gray partridge in Italy" and the LIFE + project "Reason for hope: reintroduction of the Northern Northern Bald Ibis in Europe". Eg, a specimen of Northern Bald Ibis arrived in the Po Delta in October 2020 and left in February 2021, during this period he was constantly monitored by FIDC guards and volunteer hunters. Although this is not always recognized, the hunters' associations in Italy have been carrying out a constant and intense campaign for many years to prevent and combat poaching of wildlife, and many more are in preparation.