Hunting and Woodcock: Friends of Scolopax on the question of courses for hunting woodcock, between conflicting information and other problems, "The truth first of all".
We do not like the botta and answer as they could give rise to prolonged and sterile controversy. But on this occasion, considering that we have been directly called into question, we believe we must offer a dutiful contribution in the need to restore a fund of truth to satisfy the numerous requests received in these days in this regard by woodcockers from all over Italy (especially Tuscans for what happens in the province of Pisa) and also in favor of some who pursue recognizable objectives dedicated to the protection and management of woodcock. Given that the management of a species passes through the availability of unequivocal acquired scientific data, it is only right to dwell on some facts and seek satisfactory answers. In fact, the point is not "the woodcock first of all", but is the woodcock an endangered species? According to the European Commission NO …… and according to us NOT EVEN. This is an objective fact. The Italian hunting calendars are made on the basis of an ISPRA opinion which reports the woodcock already in the reproductive phase since the second ten days of January. All the data collected so far in Italy, as in other European countries (Greece, Spain, France) do not show any evidence in this direction, and the studies underway in Italy, Spain and Great Britain with the aid of the radio satellite telemetry shows that the birds stay in their respective wintering areas at least until the first ten days of March. Hence the compatibility with the "famous" decades of overlap.
These are facts and data, and given the concomitant European evidence, it seems hardly credible to support the paucity of data. With what and how would others prove otherwise? With ringing? And how did they know the dates, times and methods of departure and arrival of the “few” ringed and recovered woodcock? Considering the over ten-year effort in ringing woodcocks, the numbers collected so far do not at all show an effort / cost / benefit ratio in favor of this activity, which certainly remains valid, but nowadays only complementary, given the most effective and efficient technological means available. We add that if only the data referring to the Italian ringings (captures and recaptures) were extrapolated, the smallness of the same would considerably and further reduce their usability and reliability. What did the woodcocks equipped with satellite transmitters equipped by the Club della Beccaccia and the ISPRA show? If we're not mistaken there were two. Some clarity would be needed in this regard, we have the data and they are available to everyone, where is the data of others?
For example, some old solon had written, signed, reiterated (they even say sworn) that a woodcock makes displacements of max 350 km: well Venaria Reale when it left it made over 770 in a single day, and Vastese (woodcock financed by the ATC Abruzzese del Vastese) in 900 routes in two days, as well as other woodcocks years ago, and not only the Italian ones, have made respectable flights covering far greater distances (both by land and by crossing stretches of open sea) than empirically and speciously stated. New horizons.
Abruzzo. Our vice-president is Abruzzese, he lives in Abruzzo, hunting in Abruzzo and he was sitting at the tables where the hunting calendar was discussed. During the 2012-2013 season the hunting calendar was challenged, and during the modification in the Abruzzo region it was present. It was decided to hunt until January 20 and to insert the obligation for each hunter to deliver the right wing of each woodcock shot down. About 1000 were delivered to us. From the analysis of these wings, the same trend of age-ratio and sex ratio of the other regions of Italy emerged. During the 2013-2014 season the Abruzzo Region introduced the obligation for ATCs to train monitors through ad hoc courses. That is, monitors (residents only) were needed to take a census of woodcock in February, in limited territories and only on a few days established by the Region. Specialized hunting has never been mentioned in official documents.
To tell the truth, the rumor began to circulate (and it would be nice if someone took the authorship of this idea), that in the event of an animal rights appeal and suspension of the TAR, only those who had been enabled as monitors could have hunted the woodcock. From many of our consultations it was immediately clear that the three major Abruzzo hunting associations were willing to challenge the hunting calendar in turn (if such a clause was inserted) and we were willing to provide all our data support. Of course we were also willing to provide them with our data in the event of an animal rights appeal. The animal rights activists, despite the closure on January 20 and the courses mentioned, challenged the calendar. The defensive machine was immediately set in motion and we were all willing to do battle, there was a different air. It was no longer a defense aimed at limiting damage, but it was felt that it was a real attack on the anti-hunt world, this time there were weapons: scientific data.
In the meantime various hunting associations, thanks to the scientific data provided by the Avifauna Office (of which we are an integral part), obtained an important victory in Tuscany. It was clear that the lies could be defeated and in Abruzzo the anti-hunt front withdrew the appeal. Later he also won in Lazio and even earlier in Veneto, Liguria and Umbria. In particular, that of the Lazio TAR was a victory that will leave its mark: “A complete victory that once again, after the successes in Veneto, Liguria and Umbria, confirms the correctness of the FACE Italia proposals sent and supported by the Italian Regions. In particular in the Lazio Region, a joint work between the FIdC Birdlife Migratory Office and the ANLC Legislative Technical Office, in collaboration with the Region, had made it possible to support the calendar with a detailed technical report complete with the reasons necessary to depart from the ISPRA opinion in several points " so read in the press releases of February 20, 2014.
This is the truth documented by the chronicles of those months and by the sentences issued, this shows that with scientific data another way is possible, it is possible to counteract the animalist lies and the absurd stances of the various bodies and organizations. But this is done all together, hounds, penmen, migrators: destiny is unique and we all win or lose together. Each with its specific skills, each with its peculiarities. So in Abruzzo he hunted until January 20 as in previous years and everyone could do it, those who had attended the courses and those who had not, residents and non-residents and the courses are absolutely not used to go hunting. In the month of january.
The truth first of all. Finally, professionalism. We read that professionalism pays off, well since our courses are not only free, but also benefit from the patronage of the Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry Policies and we would like to highlight that the ATCs in which we have been able to offer our contribution (see for example the ATC L'Aquila) not only did the two or three monitoring required by the Abruzzo region, but they carried out the monitoring until April 15 and this throughout the ATC territory, including also the areas closed to hunting and on as many days as possible. Of course, everything was done with the positive opinion of the bodies in charge. The monitoring was thus carried out not only on the woodcock, but also on the partridge and the rock partridge (the latter for obvious reasons until March 15).
It must in fact be considered that in Abruzzo the gray partridge and the rock partridge are hunted on the basis of precise census plans. So if the Abruzzo region does not have the data on woodcock it is simply because, beyond the specialized associations, no one has the data and I would like to assure you that in terms of monitoring and censuses the Abruzzo ATCs have nothing to envy to the rest of Italy, and certainly did not need "someone" to teach them how to monitor. Furthermore, with our support, the ATC “L'Aquila” is providing a publication on the woodcock species, after having already done the one on the rock partridge and the one on the partridge. This is, for the record, the reality of what happened. As far as we are concerned, we are now more than ever determined to counter that world made up of lies, determined not to flank and forge alliances with clearly environmentalist sectors historically adverse to the hunting world. You win or lose, but it's time to stop bowing your head. So courses to sensitize hunters and improve woodcock management are welcome, but let's not sell them for things that don't exist.
Finally, let us remember that it is not on a species that the battle is being played, but on two opposing visions of the environment: those who live nature directly and those who live it only through TV speculating also on it, and frankly we are closer to old mountain hare that still stinks of dogs and cigar that to the snobbish dandy of the radical-chic salons who has never got his shoes dirty with mud and who will never know how the brambles of January sting while the last winter makes fun of you. We have chosen to be on this side of heaven, among our people.
Special thanks to: atc L'Aquila, atc Vastese, atc Barisciano, atc Salinello, atc. Vomano, atc Sulmona, Federcaccia Abruzzo, Arci hunting Abruzzo, Free hunting Abruzzo, Enal Caccia Teramo.
Friends of Scolopax
(April 15, 2014)