Hunting in Bologna: the Province adopts the regional resolution for the protection of Woodcock in case of adverse weather conditions, "Woodcocks thank you".
In addition to the 2012-2013 provincial hunting calendar, the Council of the Province of Bologna implemented, with Resolution no. 347/2012, the regional decision concerning the suspension of the hunting of the woodcock species (Scolopax rusticola) in case of adverse climatic events. In the event of prolonged frost, the hunting of the wintering populations of woodcock is suspended throughout the provincial territory to resume only when the temperature rises and remains above freezing for at least five days. It is the Arpa Emilia Romagna that detects and signals the beginning and the end of these atmospheric conditions. Attention therefore to the communications of suspension and resumption of the hunting activity that the Province will immediately report on its website.
La Woodcock it is, in fact, an insectivorous bird that essentially feeds on worms and larvae which it finds, thanks to the sensitivity of its long beak, directly in the ground and in particular in the undergrowth. In the event of prolonged periods of frost, the woodcock undergoes a natural debilitation and to feed it concentrates in the few non-frozen points and is therefore much more vulnerable in the event of ongoing hunting activity.
Therefore, as per Ispra's request, the Woodcock hunting, normally allowed in the period between 1 October 2012 and 20 January 2013, is automatically suspended from the second day of the notification of "frost alert" by the Arpa Emilia Romagna Hydro-Meteo-Climate Service.
The alert is triggered when the average of the temperatures measured remains below freezing for more than six hours during the day (from sunrise to sunset) and it is expected that in the following three days the average temperatures will remain below zero. thermal, always for more than six hours during the day.
The suspension thus determined lasts until the moment in which the frost alarm ceases, i.e. when the average of the temperatures measured does not remain below freezing for more than six hours during the day (always from sunrise-sunset) for at least two consecutive days. and forecasts indicate that in the following three days the average temperatures will not drop below freezing, always for more than six hours during the day.
The withdrawal is automatically reactivated starting from the third day from the communication of the termination of the frost alert by the Hydro-Meteo-Climate Service of ARPA Emilia Romagna, i.e. after five days of absence of frost conditions.
Arpa's communications are made promptly by e-mail addressed to the offices of the Province of Bologna, to the Territorial Areas of Hunting, to the State Forestry Corps and to hunting and environmental protection associations. On the “Hunting and fishing” thematic pages of the website of the Province of Bologna, by clicking on the dedicated icon in the “Highlights” section, you can directly access the Arpa page relating to frost warnings in all the Emilia-Romagna provinces.
It is possible to view the text of the Resolution for the protection of the Woodcock in the appropriate section of the site dedicated to the Venatori Calendars or by clicking on the following link: Resolution of the Council of the Province of Bologna n.347 / 2012 - Intervention procedures for the protection of the wintering populations of the Woodcock species in the event of adverse climatic events. Integration to the 2012-2013 hunting calendar.
30 October 2012
Province of Bologna