Hunting and Fauna: for the Environment Commission of the European Union the Woodcock is no longer a declining species therefore no longer in need of a management plan.
The scientific data used by the FIdC Bird Migration Office on woodcock demography have been confirmed by the European Union. It was precisely the data present in two Wetlands International publications that define the Eurasian woodcock population (Scolopax rusticola) as "stable", which led to the exclusion of the species from the list of those for which management plans are being updated international by the European Commission DG XI.
These same data have been used since 2010 by the FIdC Bird Migration Office to defend the hunting season for the species, in response to the ISPRA opinions that defined it in decline and proposed closure on 31 December. Through the collaboration with Face Europa the FIdC Birdlife Migration Office will collaborate in the drafting of this update of the management plans for the lark, quail, turtledove, pintail and lapwing species and in this context the data on withdrawals collected during these years from 'Office will be of particular use.
For the woodcock species, on the other hand, given the favorable population data, the Commission has decided that it is no longer necessary to extend the management plan. However, this does not exempt us from continuing our studies and the collection of sampling data on the species. The foregoing demonstrates the correctness of the approach, data and research proposed by the FIdC Bird Migration Office, which have been confirmed by the European Institutions.
14 September 2013
Federcaccia - Migratory Birdlife Office