A look at the past to understand the present and imagine the future: these are the premises that introduced the conference "Environment and hunting - evolution and future of the Territory-Fauna-Hunting relationship" organized on the occasion of the annual celebrations in honor of St. Hubert. scheduled by the Fidc Emilia-Romagna.
The scenario of the meeting was the Congress Center of the Municipality of Parma, whose federal provincial section took care not only of this event, but also of the exhibition of dioramas and historical prints open to the public. It was precisely the president of the Parma Fidc, Oscar Frattini, who did the honors by thanking the Province and the Municipality for their support, underlining the interest shown by the people visiting the extremely well-finished dioramas and concluding with a question to the speakers: “What will hunting be like in 40 years, and what will the relationship between hunters and the territory be like?”.
The provincial councilor for natural resources Ugo Danni was not a formal greeting, who said he was ready to collaborate for the reaffirmation of the dignity and importance of hunting in order to achieve the equilibrium of an environment in which the human presence is not seen only as a harmful factor: "The presence of hunters on the territory must not be marginal, but decisive, with a constant reference to the traditions sometimes forgotten by certain 'modern' hunting ”.
The moderator of the debate, the wildlife technician Carmelo Musarò, then took the floor and highlighted the strong dynamism of the environment, characterized by conflicting signals: in the face of continuous urbanization, the forest regains ground, but is not cared for. The first speaker was the provincial commander of the Forestry, Pier Luigi Fedele, who carried out a historical-geographical-forestry excursus on the “highly variable” environment of Emilia-Romagna. Fedele dealt with forestry and environmental transformations, clarifying that “income” agriculture, such as that of stable meadows for Parmigiano-Reggiano, can have positive implications in terms of fauna. “Today we are also witnessing a consistent recovery of the woods - he concluded - for the benefit of biodiversity and wildlife presence”.
The report by Carlo Romanelli, of the Migratory Birds Office-Fidc, was of a historical nature. Starting from the legal situation of hunting in the Duchy of Parma and at the time of the unification of Italy, he underlined the differences between the past, when the types of hunting were many and all jealously preserved, and the present, with the debasement of the cultural richness of traditional hunts and the tendency to focus only on a few modalities: “The beauty of hunting lies in diversity” he commented.
With a distinctly technical imprint the contribution of Silvano Toso dell'Ispra, who identified, along the road that leads from consumerist hunting to "ecologically compatible" hunting, an important step: the establishment of restocking and trapping areas, focusing on the case of the hare. Among the data provided there are the heads captured annually, 46.000 of which about half in Emilia-Romagna, the ideal size, between 300 and 500 ha, and their stabilization over the last 20 years. A necessary tool not only for the Zrc, but for all wildlife management, is the achievement of a new pact between hunters and farmers.
The future through the status of the wolf was the topic of the research illustrated by the biologist Lorenza Grottoli. A predator protagonist of a slow but steady increase which started from the Apennine nuclei without resorting to reintroductions. In 2003, the latest data in the literature, there were estimated 15.000 specimens in Europe and 6-700 in Italy on the rise, favored by the richness of fauna that enhances their role as balancers of wild populations, especially on sick and old subjects.
The president of the Fidc Emilia-Romagna, Stefano Merighi, recalled how "the celebrations of our patron saint must increasingly become a moment of confrontation with the whole Society. In doing so today we have understood that hunting is, rightly, one of the most regulated subjects since the earliest history and that it is not one of the most serious problems for some wild species. Looking to the future - he continued - the need for a change of pace for hunters is increasingly urgent: we must change and we are doing it, as evidenced by the increasingly frequent use of science to support our requests towards the institutions. We do not want, as some have accused us in recent days, to make us believe that we are benefactors because by hunting we help to restore and maintain the natural balance, but we have no fear in proposing ourselves for what we are: attentive and aware managers ".
After the conferral of the honors of provincial "Gentleman Hunter" to the lawyer Giovanni De Angelis - for a long time engaged in the management of the Parma Fidc - and regional to prof. Giuseppe Pelosio - former rector of the University of Parma -, was the national president Dall'Olio to close the work.
Many points touched: from the future of hunting to the role of hunters and the Federation: “The future, and in many cases today, of hunting it has already been written by Europe and it is to it that we must look. In many realities the hunting activity plays a subsidiary role for the bodies delegated to the management thanks to the collection and processing of data and studies carried out by the hunters themselves.
For this, greater hunting ethics is also necessary. Just as it is desirable to achieve unity of hunting associations, as is the case in other European countries, where thanks to the acquisition of an appropriate wealth of knowledge they interact fruitfully with the Company. For this reason Federcaccia and its managers are increasingly committed to technical, scientific, ethical, political and, if you like, aesthetic knowledge.
The conference ended with a dinner whose proceeds were partly donated to the association "Noi per Loro", which assists families and children hospitalized in the pediatric oncohematology department of the Parma hospital, to which 3000 euros have been handed over.
Source: Federcaccia