The freezing cold and abundant snowfall of recent weeks suggest a great death of wild animals that may not have had the opportunity to find shelter and nourishment.
The proportions of this phenomenon, however, can only be speculated for now; According to the URCA of Rimini, Regional Union of Hunters of the Apennines, the losses of roe deer could be between 35 and 40 percent of the estimated population.
The head of the wildlife protection of the Province, Pier Claudio Arrigoni, explained, "A truly impressive number when compared to a normal winter, during which about 5% of it dies. At the moment it is not possible to make a precise estimate, but certainly these are very serious losses ”.
This is the main reason that has pushed the provincial council to close the selection hunt for the roe deer species starting from today 16 February; according to the Hunting Calendar, the end of the selection hunt was scheduled for 10 March. All wild animals should struggle with the weather we are talking about these days but it is thought that roe deer should be the species most affected by the exceptional snowfall.
Arrigoni continues, revealing that "The solicitation came from the hunters themselves and from the Territorial Areas of Hunting. A proposal to underline and which confirms the great cultural change that has taken place in the world of hunting ”.
Arrigoni then continues on the issue "I believe that even the wild boars have suffered substantial losses especially in the case of early litters: if the mother has not prepared a sufficiently warm environment, many small boars may not have been able to survive. Huge damage also for the pheasants, but it should have been better for the partridges. As for the wolves, even for them it was an anomalous situation: in these days they have been able to feed on the carcasses of dead animals, but many are disoriented ”.
Just a few days ago in Ponte Messa, in the province of Rimini, A wolf specimen of about a year and a half in an evident state of difficulty was found and rescued; The wolf was then cared for and looked after by the staff of the Wildlife Protection Office, by the men of the Forestry Corps and obviously by the veterinary unit of the Ausl and then moved to the Boschi di Carrega regional park in Parma.
Arrigoni comments on the episode: "It was a team effort. We also have to thank the commitment put in place by the voluntary ecological guards and the hunting guards. There is great sensitivity on the part of all towards animals ”. In the area of the upper Valmarecchia, the men of the Forestry with a helicopter brought hay to the wild animals that could have great difficulty in finding food.
It is not only the wildlife that pays for the prohibitive weather conditions, there are in fact large losses also among the animals of the farms in the area where the snow in some cases caused the collapse of stables, sheepfolds and chicken coops causing victims among the animals that were housed there; in this regard, a special table was convened this afternoon at the province to take stock of the situation.