Hunting Federation: In these days the Italian Federation of Hunting has sent a document from the European Commission to the Ministry of the Environment and to the Italian Regions which outlines the guidelines for updating and modifying the Key Concepts data of the Member States.
As is known, the topic is hotly topical for Italy following the EU PILOT 6955 / ENVI / 2014 procedure, which highlighted the problem of the application of KC data in our and neighboring countries, with the existing discrepancies on the period of the beginning of the pre-nuptial migration for song thrush, cesena and woodcock.
Unfortunately, this too is well known, the responses of the Ministry of the Environment to the Commission did not defend the work of the Regions, which applied paragraph 2.7.10 of the Guide to the regulation of EU hunting, nor were they clear on the judgments of the Administrative Justice. Italian, who have always agreed with the Regions, rejecting the appeals.
For the three species mentioned, a contradictory situation exists between various bibliographic sources and KC data, as well as between data and research carried out at regional level and national KC data. For example, for the song thrush, ISPRA texts state that the migration begins in February, and the same conclusion emerges from regional studies carried out by ringing, in agreement with the KCs of France, Greece, Spain, Portugal.
The revision of the KCs is therefore urgent and today the procedures to be followed are clearer according to a European document, the result of an agreement of the EU Environment Commission with BirdLife International and FACE, therefore an official document in all respects.
In this report, national authorities are asked to set up an independent working group in which stakeholders with studies and research on certain bird populations may be present, including hunting associations, which for some species can provide the necessary data. .
To date, the Ministry of the Environment has not established this group nor has it ever involved hunting associations in the debate on the matter.
We hope that the Ministry will take into account and use the suggestions coming from Europe and convene the working group.
In this sense, the hunting associations are available and will take action for a fruitful and finally complete collaboration.
Rome, 13 November 2015 - Italian Federation of Hunting