ATC Taranto responds to the invectives of environmentalists on the question of the repopulation of hares, stating that they were purchased with the money of hunters.
The president of the Taranto Hunting Territorial Area, Piero Bitetti, responds to the accusations of the WWF environmentalists in particular about the waste of public money for the repopulation of hares for hunting purposes: "The money spent to buy hares are hunters: other than waste of public money ".
Bitetti, yesterday morning, together with the Management Committee of the same ATC which includes the exponents of environmental associations and agricultural organizations, and together with the representatives of the hunting world wanted to put an end to the controversy triggered by the WWF Puglia on the expenditure for the repopulation project of a thousand hares in the territory of the ATC Taranto.
In the explanation of the situation President Bitetti began with the explanation of how an ATC is established and how this carries out its activity, going back to the national hunting law 157/92 with which it is given by giving a mandate to the Regions regarding the discipline in hunting for the planned management of wildlife resources and the protection of the natural habitat.
Thus explained the Bitetti question, “Puglia did so in law 27 of '98 with rules for the protection of wildlife, regulation of hunting and resources. The ATC therefore takes care at the provincial level of environmental protection and balance, as well as obviously planning the hunting exercise reconciling it with production and agricultural needs. All this to favor the optimal relationship between man, environment and territory ".
Carrying on the president explains further referring to the regional regulation 3/99 which regulates the activity of the ATC and the financial management “We have just approved the 2011 final balance sheet which, despite the decline in enrollments, went better than the year before. The budget, which has about 250 thousand euros in revenue, is made up of the shares paid by hunters (42 euros to the ATC, plus another 84 to the Region and 173,16 to the State) and possibly by provincial contributions which, up to now, have not been paid. have ever been. And the same regional transfers are drawn from the quotas paid by the hunters, so they are round games ”.
So according to Bitetti, “There is no waste of the Province's money and it is the regional regulation that prescribes how we must spend the funds in the budget. 20% for environmental improvement; 45 for the purchase of wildlife and restocking; 10 for the pre-environment facilities for animals and 25 for management costs. Money whose expenditure is bound by legislation. For this reason the controversy and the arguments used are sterile and the hunters have risen above all for the attacks of the environmentalists, given that the ATC has allocated 90 thousand euros for environmental improvement".
On other issues that generally create conflicts between environmentalists and hunters who need clarification such as the damage to agriculture caused by wildlife, finally explained President Bitetti, “The damage caused by hare is trivial compared to that of wild boar. On this front we are intervening by training technical figures who will survey the animals and, if there should be an imbalance with the territory, we will opt for the forced withdrawal with the capture and movement to other areas dedicated to the ATC".