Federcaccia: in France the relationship between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Hunters is strengthened. And in Italy?
With a press release from the Ministry of Agriculture, Agro-food and Forests in France, a few days ago, we wanted to underline the increasingly strong collaboration that across the Alps characterizes the relations between the Dicastery and the National Federation of hunters. Minister Stéphane Le Foll himself, spokesman for the government, took part in the general assembly of the Federation of Hunters on 18 March. On this occasion, the minister recalled the importance of hunting for the economy and for the life of rural areas. Stéphane Le Foll and Bernard Baudin, President of the National Federation of Hunters, have signed a framework partnership agreement for the period 2015-2019 on five themes:
The evaluation of the socio-economic weight and the positive effects of hunting connected to the development of rural areas;
The development of a game supply chain;
Greater dynamism of local sustainable hunting networks linked to the development of tourism in the countryside;
The development of training in education for durable and sustainable development in the field of agricultural schools.
This collaboration aims to strengthen the involvement of hunters, land managers, alongside farmers and foresters, in the implementation of the policies identified by the Ministry. On the other hand, this aspect was a very important step forward of the law for the future of agriculture, food and the forest of 13 October 2014. Some considerations cannot escape from reading this news.
The first: the close relationship that, unlike in our country, exists in France between the Ministry of Agriculture - also competent in Italy on the subject, but too often absent, delegating to the "colleague" of the Environment - and representatives of hunters. The second, that the French hunters, more numerous than us, despite the diversity of forms of hunting they practice when they speak with the institutions do so with a single voice. The third, no less important, is that the program recalled by the French Ministry communiqué is very close to the one recently launched with the participation of Federcaccia with the initiative "Environment, legality, work: projects for a new quality of life", by many criticized without having understood its scope and objectives.
We can only hope that the French example, a nation to which Italian fans often look in terms of hunting in terms of times and species, will make us reflect better on the need for a much broader and more articulated vision.
(March 24, 2015)
Hunting Federation