Hunting, Fauna and Territory: Florence, from the conference on damage from wildlife in San Casciano, “Orienting the hunting calendar according to the protection of production”.
The conference of the ATC Firenze 5 dedicated to the theme of the protection of valuable agricultural productions. “Orient the hunting calendar according to the protection of production”. This is the request that emerged during the ATC Firenze 5 Conference dedicated to the theme of the protection of valuable agricultural productions. "Politics must take responsibility for orienting the hunting calendar in terms of the protection of agricultural production, thus authorizing the killing of ungulates also in September, that is, before the harvest". This is the message launched by the President of the Florence 5 Hunting Territorial Area Piero Certosi during the conference organized today in San Casciano entitled "Environment and valuable crops: management strategies for protection". A message addressed to the representatives of the competent hunting institutions present at the meeting, including the Tuscany Region, represented by Sabrina Nuti of the Hunting Office, and the provincial councilors Pietro Roselli (Agriculture) and Renzo Crescioli (Hunting), as well as to representatives of agricultural, hunting and environmental associations. Furthermore, the Conference Proceedings will be sent to the Agriculture Commission of the Chamber.
The problem of damage from ungulates in the territory managed by ATC Firenze 5 (all the municipalities of the Province of Florence south of the Arno) has in fact now reached a true emergency character. A growing phenomenon: in the last two hunting seasons the sum paid by ATC5 as reimbursement to farmers was around 300.000 euros a year, while only a few years earlier it was 150.000. At the same time, the electrified fences financed by ATC 5 and the commitment to research and experimentation aimed at prevention have also increased.
“In recent years - continues Certosi - both the sums spent in prevention and the abatements have increased, all obviously authorized by Ispra. In the last season, in the territory with planned hunting and for control in the non-hunting institutes, about 7000 heads were killed, including roe deer and wild boar, species responsible for almost 90% of the damage to the vineyards. A fact that is no longer compatible with our territory ".
In this context, the hunters did their part, concentrating the selective killing in the areas where the greatest damage occurred; us through our strong commitment to damage prevention, through non-impacting systems. All this has not prevented the proliferation of metal fences. “We cannot, however, enclose our entire territory - says Certosi - which is also of great landscape and agricultural value. This is why we are focusing a lot on the new prevention and deterrent tools with the use of repellents, presented today at our conference. But the fact remains that only by intervening on the number of leaders present, with a different articulation of the calendar, will we be able to put a stop to this great problem. So an appeal to politics to overcome the opinions of ISPRA regarding the hunting of the female roe deer, to be carried out not only in the winter months but also in September and especially in the vineyards ".
“Sharing the management strategies of ungulates in a homogeneous way throughout the territory is therefore essential, also because - concludes Certosi - it cannot be killed on one side and repopulated on the other. Finally, we hope that today's confrontation with all the stakeholders can make us take a step forward towards an increasingly shared management of the territory ".
The scientific part of the conference was held with the following interventions:
- ATC FI 5 and GESAAF: 5 years of collaboration on the prevention of damage from ungulates Francesco Sorbetti Guerri, Veronica Racanelli, GESAAF University of Florence. Experiences and perspectives on the prevention of damage from ungulates through the use of repellent substances. Sara Bartolozzi, Orazio La Marca, Marco Vieri, Marco Rimediotti, GESAAF University of Florence.
- Use of electrified fences for the prevention of damage from wild ungulates in district areas Andrea Marsan, DISTAV University of Genoa.
At the round table entitled: "Environment and valuable crops: management strategies for protection", moderated by Ermanno Bonomi, Sociologist Environment and Tourism, were also present: Luigi Giovanni Cappellini, Farmers Union; Filippo Legnaioli, President of the CIA Florence, Roberto Nocentini, President of Coldiretti Florence-Prato; Massimiliano Pescini, Mayor of San Casciano in Val di Pesa; Marco Rustioni, Legambiente; Simone Tofani, President of Federcaccia Firenze.
(March 7, 2014)
Province of Florence