Hunting season closed
In the report to the Federcaccia Annual Assembly of 6 April last we said, with regard to crossings, and their possible closure to hunting, of the deafening silence of politics. Extremely legitimate concern, also because, all the promises recorded during the electoral campaign for the European elections, of inclusion in the conversion into law of the Agriculture decree of the proposed amendments to law 157 also on this issue, at the beginning of July of last 2024, had been rebuffed. Of course, it was difficult to think of a sentence for us as disastrous as that of last week by the TAR of Milan.
Migration routes
In order: the TAR of Milan, with respect to an appeal initiated by LAC, had instructed ISPRA to provide the Court with scientific evaluation documentation relating to the identification previously made by the Lombardy Region of 42 planned border crossings. The report, which had to be produced within a certain deadline, later extended to nine months, was produced by ISPRA in two attachments: one defined as a technical document and one defined as an explanatory report. In the explanatory report, a document dated 19 October 2024, drawn up by the Commissioner ad acta of ISPRA Dr. Genovesi, in the part defined as “Conclusions” reference is made to the identification of 19 border crossings to be closed to hunting, and a further 15 on which a more specific investigation was to be carried out for 24 months in order to define the ban. In the scientific report, however, which also starts from the assumption that there are no studies that indicate the migratory routes, it is practically said that the border crossings affected by the presumed migration routes in Lombardy could be as many as 475, or 279 if a different evaluation scale is used.
Protection regime
At this point the TAR requests to better specify the situation and the assessment to Ispra. On February 25, 2025, Commissioner Genovesi produces a new document in which he reiterates that the previous conclusions, 19 crossings or an additional 15 were aimed at allowing a proportional and reasonable application of the protection regime provided for by the regulations. But that, by virtue of a precautionary principle, it is recommended to close all 475 crossings, or alternatively 279, a number resulting from a different form of interpretation of the data. And the TAR, in order not to disturb any bird that passes through our mountains, by a precautionary principle, orders the Lombardy Region to close all 475 presumed Lombard crossings to hunting, a decision that with the same criterion could open a domino effect on all Italian regions in the future. Now, if the national hunting law refers the management of hunting to Alpine areas and districts, how can one think that this can be permitted when with a stroke of the pen more than 150.000 hectares of huntable territory are wiped out in Brescia alone, more than 1500 fixed hides, and practically all of it in the Alpine Zone, the part of this that is truly usable for hunting, given that at the lower altitudes it is competed for by industrial settlements and residences, roads and agriculture.
Uncertainties, penalties and management difficulties
We are shocked, disappointed, bitter and also very angry. This is the straw that breaks the camel's back, a camel that was already full of uncertainties, penalties, management difficulties all due to appeals and courts. If this is the way identified to close our business, our passion, we can be sure that from now on we will stop being a patient and gentle people; know that we have an enormous difficulty in being and remaining calm. We are convinced that the Lombardy Region will appeal to the Council of State, so that another authority can better understand how this could have happened, and whether it is right that it happened. But we strongly believe that now it is up to politics, our regional politics, to study shared strategies for respecting the rules and laws and also for the protection of our dignity. Then to the national policy, urged by our Lombard representatives, to settle the issue of border crossings, which only Italian law contemplates and establishes as a reference for migration, since in the community directive 2009/147/CE it speaks of migratory flows and special protection zones with hunting prohibited in certain periods and human intervention especially for the implementation of environmental improvements. Urgent action is needed, we would say immediate by the Government, to be implemented in the most direct ways, to avert an emergency and to repair what is a serious injustice towards all Lombard hunters. Hunting, hunters and an entire industrial and commercial sector that follows are at stake. (Federcaccia Brescia – CACCIAPENSIERI)
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