Federcaccia criticizes the methods of some organizations and associations to instill “their” anti-hunt thinking: “Enough media catastrophism”.
What Europe do we belong to? It is time to say enough to a media catastrophism constructed at the table that recalls the communicative methods of regimes of the past. Biologically and legally legitimate pre-opening: the European key concepts data allow the opening on 1 September for 26 migratory species that can be hunted in Italy.
There are 26 species of migratory birds that can be hunted in Italy that could be hunted as early as 1 September, in harmony with the rules of the European Union. Contrary to what has been declared in recent days by anti-hunting organizations and some government representatives, the hunt for September 1st is completely legitimate according to the European directives and the ORNIS Key Concepts document.
Today in Italy the pre-opening traditionally involves only a few species, namely the turtledove and partly the wood pigeon, the blackbird and the corvids. Very few regions or provinces allow a few days of pre-opening to some anatidae. According to European rules, on the other hand, there would be much more species that could be hunted as early as September 1, as the reproductive and parental care phase has already ended.
All the ducks, the lapwing, the snipe, the whisk, the fighter, all the turdidae, the lark, the woodcock, the moorhen and the coot, in addition to the turtle dove, could be hunted on 1 September, in full respect of the ORNIS Key Concepts document and the Interpretation Guide.
In fact, for all these species, the reproductive period has already ended and only for the teal (present in Italy with very few pairs) the overlapping decade provided for by the ISPRA and the Interpretative Guide, also recognized in the 2009 document by BirdLife, would be used. Europe and ITALY (Brunner-Selvaggi). A very different scenario from what was exposed by the anti-hunt organizations, which today seem with these exasperations not to know the European directives and guidelines.
It should be emphasized that the Italian hunting world has never made any particular requests for a generalized advance of the hunt to 1 September, even if completely legitimate biologically and legally, in compliance with the maximum time frame, provided for by law 157/92.
Analyzing the species object of pre-opening hunting, it is noted that the demographic and conservation situation is favorable: a recent Italian study by MIPAAF in collaboration with LIPU, shows that the Italian nesting population of turtledove has been increasing in the last 10 years.
The same goes for the wood pigeon, a species intensely hunted throughout Europe for very long periods of the year. For the corvids a generalized increase, and particularly significant for hooded crow and magpie, no alarm for the blackbird. All available data demonstrate in a scientifically indisputable way that pre-opening is a SUSTAINABLE form of hunting.
The anti-hunting world, after having tried in these two years, to reduce the periods of the normal hunting season without any scientifically plausible justification, is now trying with catastrophic news, artificially constructed, to eliminate the pre-opening, once again, without the support. of any technical or scientific data.
For the Bird Migration Office, the defense of Italian hunting traditions is a fundamental choice that cannot be renounced, which binds the hunter-citizen to the conservation of biodiversity and to maintaining contact with the rural environment.
A commitment to be implemented with modern methods, supported by data and research, which allow us to direct our daily commitment to the defense of the conservation of natural environments and fauna, fully respecting the European directives and the laws of our country.
Rome, 4 September 2012
FIdC Migratory Birdlife Office