Clash in the Province of Forlì - Cesena over compensation for damage caused by ungulates and in particular by wild boars and roe deer.
The councilor to the Province of Forlì-Cesena, Stefano Gagliardi posed the question on the question of compensation for the damage caused by ungulate game: who is required to pay? The Councilor for the Environment is ready to answer.
In fact, the councilor Gagliardi argued, "The Province of Forlì-Cesena continues to refuse to compensate spontaneously for the damage caused to individuals by the game subjected to selective collection, forcing the parties to institute long and costly judicial proceedings, which promptly see the Province of Forlì-Cesena ".
Continuing, the councilor explained, “Recently a sentence of the Court of Appeal confirmed the sentence of the Province, already pronounced in the first instance by the Court of Forlì. In this ruling, the Province was also ordered to reimburse the judicial costs to the other parties in the case, for a total of over 9.000 euros, which are added to the 8.000 euros of the first sentence at the Court of Forlì ”.
According to Gagliardi, the question mainly concerns the damage caused by roe deer and wild boar in wildlife-hunting farms; these animals belong to protected species subjected only to hunting and therefore within the competence of the Province but for the institution it seems this is not the case.
In fact, the question is answered by the Councilor for the Environment of the Province of Forlì-Cesena, Luciana Garbuglia: "First of all, it must be said that, in the matter of compensation for damage caused by wildlife, the offices of the Province are very careful to prevent any conflicts from being transformed in legal disputes. This is demonstrated by the fact that the same offices manage 300-340 requests for compensation every year, disbursing, last year alone, 186.213 euros of regional funds. In the face of all this activity, there have been only two legal disputes in recent years and both concerning the specific aspect of damage caused by roe deer and wild boar in wildlife-hunting farms ".
Continuing on the matter explained Garbuglia “the regional law 8/94 is binding in identifying the subjects entitled to compensation. In particular, the rule and the obligations established in the concessions to the Wildlife Hunting Companies (AFV) place the burdens on the concessionaires themselves for the prevention interventions and for the compensation of the damage caused by the species of wildlife whose hunting collection is authorized. , including roe deer and wild boar in selective form. The dispute cited by Gagliardi was promoted by some farmers included in hunting companies which, despite having been authorized for the hunting of roe deer and wild boar, opposed the compensation instead of providing it as required by law. The Province, for its part, cannot take charge of this damage, being required by law to answer for the damage caused in the AFVs exclusively by protected species. In fact, it must be clear that roe deer and wild boar, like other ungulates, are species that can be hunted according to state regulations and that selective collection is only one of the many hunting methods ".
In conclusion, the commissioner Garbuglia affirmed, “In the face of the appeal, the constitution in court represents the only action to be taken for the Province. The entity operates on delegation with funds from the Emilia-Romagna Region which does not finance this type of damage. Providing this type of compensation - unless there is a definitive sentence that imposes it - means for the Province not to have the right to reimbursement by the Region, and indeed there is even the risk of sanctions if the Provinces operate in a manner different from the law. The Emilia-Romagna Region is engaged in an action to clarify the correct interpretation of the law, although it must be said that this contrary jurisprudential orientation was affirmed only in the court of Forlì and not in those of the other Emilia-Romagna provinces ”.