In the past years there has been a sharp decline in hunters in the Emilia Romagna Region despite the important role in controlling the territory.
According to research relating to the period between 2002 and 2009, there was a sharp decline in hunters in the Emilia Romagna Region which reached about 15%; for the most recent period, however, up-to-date data is lacking on the tendency of the hunting population to decrease, which is therefore to be considered still in progress.
According to the Regional Councilor, Luca Bartolini, “This is a negative fact because hunting plays an important role as an environmental and territorial controller, but the Region discourages this practice with an excess of rules and regulations”.
Bartolini also highlighted how the taxes collected by hunters in Emilia Romagna bring revenues to the Region much higher than the compensation paid to the agricultural world. This and other reasons why Bartolini asked the regional council for a reversal of the trend "giving full recognition to the role of the hunter", as part of a "reorganization and simplification of all the regulations" of the sector.
Finally, the councilor Bartolini asked what are the criteria underlying the checks regarding the claims for damages caused to farmers by wildlife to their crops as the doubt arises that "we avoid fully ascertaining the damage so as not to justify the passion of those who practice hunting ".