Criticism of Federcaccia
The Council of State with ordinance 3670/2024 published on 4 October 2024 confirmed the strong limitations to the regional hunting calendar of Marche 2024-2025 already sanctioned by the TAR with sentence 346/2024. This is the chronicle of a death foretold, the cause of which must be sought in the position of Federcaccia Marche which claimed to impose its own hunting calendar proposal. No less guilty are the other hunting associations and, above all, the Marche Region which uncritically and passively accepted FIDC's position. 3 years of legal disputes at the TAR Marche and the Council of State were not enough to make FIDC Marche and its "underbelly accomplices" (Region, Libera Caccia, ENAL Caccia, ANUU, EPS) understand that, in our region, the closures on January 30 for Turdidi and Beccaccia would have been censored.
Appeal to the TAR
For this reason, we at Arci Caccia Marche had warned the Region and said we were against the proposal of January 30. We had argued and continue to argue that with respect to the pronouncements of the administrative justice and, in particular, the clear ruling of the TAR Marche last year, it would have been enough to set the closures of hunting for Turdidae and Woodcock on January 20 (requesting the so-called "overlapping decade"), giving up 3-4 useful hunting days, but at the same time making the hunting season safe. That is, in the event of an appeal to the TAR, running the risk of seeing the season reduced by only 10 days. Now, however, with the demand for closures on January 30 by FIDC we have lost a month of hunting!
What would have been useful?
To avoid this latest disaster of hunting planning signed by FIDC, a few things would have been enough:
– The legitimate claim by Councillor Antonini and President Acquaroli of their role as administrators; a role through which to responsibly impose, in the face of previous jurisprudence and risky requests from an interest holder (FIDC), a choice of a “safe” and “mediated” hunting calendar which, in the interest of all, would have protected the hunting season as a whole.
– The awareness by the Marche Region of the positions of the specialist hunters of Turdidi and Beccaccia from the Marche (never heard of before) who, faced with the concrete risk of losing a month of hunting, would have preferred without hesitation to give up 3-4 useful days of hunting by choosing January 20th.
– The Marche Region's listening to Arci Caccia Marche and our proposal for a mediated and rational solution that would lead to maximum results with minimum risks.
All this, however, did not happen. The Marche Region abdicated its political and administrative role, making FIDC Marche choose, thus giving full mandate to those who have the prevailing interest in the derogation of starlings and collared doves and hunting the Ruff, to decide also on behalf of the Marche hunters of thrushes and woodcocks!
The most beautiful calendar in Italy
In the face of this latest disaster “branded Federcaccia Marche” the words of the regional president of FIDC Paolo Antognoni resound darkly, who, a little over a month ago, was delighted to have in the Marche the “most beautiful calendar in Italy”! Now that “the most beautiful calendar in Italy” has been amputated of a month of hunting but has maintained the huntability of the Fighter and the Moretta (fundamental species for all hunters in the Marche!) FIDC Marche is pouring water on the fire that has broken out, reassuring hunters in the Marche that a ruling on the merits will soon arrive from the Council of State. This is yet another mockery by FIDC because now, on the one hand, it is likely that no ruling on the merits will arrive in time to save the current regional hunting calendar and that, instead, the CdS will express itself belatedly with an empty and useless ruling thus declaring the appeal inadmissible for lapsed interest; on the other hand, if the CdS ruling were to arrive soon, there is the concrete risk of a very insidious ruling that could definitively sanction the cutting of a month of hunting, causing even greater damage, this time not only to hunters from the Marche but to hunters throughout Italy.
Punitive limitations
All this absurd situation just described is, facts in hand, what the positions of Federcaccia Marche have produced, which, with its usual arrogance, has not listened to any different and mediated proposal. It is necessary to remember, once again, how the regional President of Arci Caccia Marche Gabriele Sperandio, demonstrating that Arci Caccia Marche was not making fun of hunters, had declared in an open letter, last February 24, that he would resign from his position if the hunting calendar as proposed by FIDC and ANLC and supported by the other associations and the Region had not suffered limitations. Now that the limitations are -unfortunately- mammoth and punitive, we are waiting to find out how those responsible for this pitiful result will behave. Will they have the courage to take responsibility? What does Paolo Antognoni of FIDC Marche think of his "most beautiful calendar in Italy"? Of course we could have had more, but on the other hand someone (Regional Councillor for Hunting Antonini first and foremost) thought that, rather than following the path of confrontation with the parties started a few years ago, it was better to ask for the maximum to obtain the minimum. The strategy is the same as that famous husband who, to spite his wife, decided to cut off his …………… (source: Arci Caccia).