Sentinels of the environment. Keepers of nature. We hunters are often approached by these definitions, not only by the managers of our Hunting Associations, but also by those who recognize this role in us. Beautiful words, excellent statements, but if not supported with concrete facts, only slogans with no content remain. In recent months we hunters have seen how communication, in all its facets, is fundamental, and we have witnessed commendable initiatives linked to this aspect, that is our widespread presence in the territory, born in Brescia and in Lombardia which have also found a good response at national level. Of course we need to communicate better, but we also need to add content to this communication.
We must communicate that we are integrity people, respectful of the rules, lovers of nature, but we have the duty to support these characteristics with concrete actions and activities that are not only for our prerogative but for the benefit of the whole community. Some shares enjoy widespread appreciation, while many examples remain hidden from the public eye. For example, in December and January some of our hunters made themselves available to carry out sanitary sampling in collaboration with the ATS on ducks killed in fixed stalks with the aim of monitoring avian flu. This activity has led to interesting results, in fact it has been possible to understand that i viruses present in avifauna in the valleys of the Po delta they are not present at a level identifiable in those felled in the Lombardy Region.
The Lombard Poultry District and UNA Italia, the National Association of Poultry Breeders, formally and openly thanked the Veterinary Unit of the Lombardy Region which coordinated the surveillance, but especially the hunting world and those hunters who have made themselves available for data collection indispensable to the project. This monitoring activity was a springboard for a new conduct activity from the beginning of March in four stalking in the province of Brescia. Now that the hunt is closed, influenza viruses are sought only in the faeces of wild ducks which find shelter in the fixed hunting stalks that have water throughout the year. Also this activity, coordinated by Veterinary Department of the ATS of Brescia and from the ATC Unico for the area of competence, it made it possible to establish the absence of highly pathogenic viruses in the first samplings performed.
It was therefore possible to derogate from the ban on the release of breeding pheasants also in the areas below the A4 motorway, according to the notes of the Lombardy Region and the Ministry. This activity has had positive repercussions in terms of knowledge of the epidemiological situation, for example it is allowing the poultry industry to have information on the spread of viruses that could enter poultry farms with serious consequences. Precisely in the context of the surveillance of avian viruses, the European Commissioner for Health Kyriaks has publicly attributed to hunters the role of true and only sentinels of the environment in identifying outbreaks of avian flu. It is with these activities that we consciously master the role that has been attributed to us. This is why actively participating in initiatives such as these is essential for our world. There is no lack of opportunities to fill the slogans with concrete facts with meaning.
It is exclusively up to each of us. In this regard, we would like to point out an important initiative to be able to make our contribution. The Ministry of Health, through the Veterinary Services of the ATS, requests that all carcasses of wild boars found dead (including those injured) are reported with the aim of monitoring the possible introduction of African swine fever in our country. It is our duty, both to be useful to the national pig sector and to avoid a possible spread of this disease in wild boars, to report the discovery of a dead wild boar to the Provincial Police and the Veterinary Department of the ATS of Brescia. A small action that can really make a difference, because the sooner the entry of this disease into the territory is identified, the sooner all the necessary actions can be taken to limit its spread. (CACCIAPENSIERI - Federcaccia Brescia)