Hunting to ungulates. The grape harvest is also tempting for roe deer, wild boar, fallow deer and red deer: an old problem in search of new solutions.
Tuscany is the region most affected and Liberatore (Chianti Classico) speaks of "a situation out of control". Will the new bill be able to solve the problem?
- ungulates in number. In Castello di Brolio the grapes devoured by ungulates have been quantified in 1000 quintals, Castello di Meleto complains of the loss of 500 quintals, while in Rocca di Castagnoli they were 700 equal to 490 hectoliters of wine. It went better - so to speak - in Badia a Coltibuono where the quintals lost were between 250 and 300. Overall, the four companies have 540 hectares of vineyards, have a turnover of over 30 million euros and, including induced, employ hundreds of people.
In short, they are a rather reliable "source" and, all together, they have sent a cry of alarm to the institutions. In Tuscany, the estimate of "active" ungulates speaks of 200.000 roe deer, 200.000 wild boar, 8.000 fallow deer and 4.000 deer. Everyone is hungry, especially in harvest time when the sweet and juicy bunches are an irresistible attraction. On the other hand, the presence of woods and forests that occupy 60% of the regional territory is an excellent habitat for the development and proliferation of wildlife which in some cases is even grazed by irresponsible people who supply bread and corn to them. animals.
Fences and traffic accidents. A problem that Massimiliano Biagi, agronomist of Castello di Brolio, knows well: “Defending oneself from what is a real assault is not easy at all, it is certainly expensive and not always decisive. The electrified nets require continuous maintenance and do not solve the problem, also because the roe deer jumps up to 2 meters in height. Now we are forced to fence with high and fixed nets that have a strong environmental impact and a high cost, around 25 euros per linear meter, but also require constant maintenance ”.
It is paradoxical that on the one hand everything is done to increase the naturalistic itineraries and walking routes of the Chianti Classico, which has always been a free area, when one is then forced to make long detours due to the anti-ungulate networks. And by car, driving along the Chianti roads is not at all relaxing. The main cause of road accidents in Siena (between 70% and 80% according to the Province) is due precisely to the impact with some of these animals.
The Councilor for Agriculture of the Tuscany Region, Marco Remaschi, recently recalled that road accidents involving ungulates are on the rise. “There were about 250 in 2013” he said “there were over 700 in 2014 and the estimates for 2015, with data as of September, are 900/1000 accidents. And among these there are also fatal accidents ”.
The economic impact. Long-standing problem. From a survey of the Chianti Classico Gallo Nero Wine Consortium a few years ago, carried out among the associated companies - about 600 companies representing 95% of the denomination - it emerged that 90% of them had repeatedly suffered damage of varying degrees. In many cases the damage is not even reported to the Territorial Hunting Areas (ATC) because the reimbursement - when there are funds - is made on the cost of the grapes at mercurial prices, that is by referring to the average price list, issued by the Chamber. of trade, very little profitable for the injured party.
Just think that that grape transformed into wine could be from a vineyard destined for the production of Chianti Classico Gran Selezione. So with a deadweight loss of income, not even remotely comparable to that of grapes. The damage then is not only the failure to harvest and the loss of production, but damage to the plant also in the following years, especially because the roe deer graze all the new shoots of the vine.
Damage to the woods. Andrea Cecchi of the homonymous winery in Castellina in Chianti explains that “the problem of ungulates is increasingly serious, also because it is often the most beautiful vineyards and in the best exposures, from which the finest wines are obtained, that are affected. This year we lost the production of 2,5 hectares of vineyards equivalent to 130 quintals of grapes, more due to the action of the roe deer than the wild boar. In Maremma we recorded very strong damage in the driest years such as in 2011 and 2012, while in 2015 the rains at the right time partly saved us from the onslaught ”.
Roe deer, wild boar, fallow deer and red deer are not only a problem for viticulture but also for the woods. To be affected, also in this case, are the new shoots that, when grazed, affect the growth of the trees. The diagnosis of Lyme disease is also worryingly growing, caused by a bacterium that infests ticks, carried by deer and roe deer, which can infect humans.
Small and large fauna, repopulation and hunting. But there is none for anyone, not even for small fauna: hares have almost completely disappeared in the woods and meadows and even pheasants do not fare very well. In fact, a little shrewd repopulation policy, a poorly prudent management of protected areas and a certain compliance with hunters, made it possible to import animal species foreign to the territory. To trace the origin of this practice, we need to go back in time.
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