Opening Hunting: New Rules, Species Limits and Guidelines of the New 2010-2011 Hunting Calendars.
ROME, 17 SEPT - From Sunday 19 September with the official start of the 2010-2011 hunting season, hunters will be able to return to shoot three days a week (excluding Tuesdays and Fridays) until 31 January (closing day) . From this year the shotguns will also have to adapt to the new rules introduced by the Community law - approved by the Chamber in April - which modify, in some aspects, the law 157 on hunting activities.
NEW RULES WITH THE COMMUNITY (two main novelties): - the first concerns the ban on hunting "for each single species" during migration, the nesting period, and the stages of reproduction and assistance to the offspring; - the second is that "the regions can postpone" the closing deadlines to the first 10 days of February for which "they are obliged to obtain the prior opinion" of the Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (Ispra), " to which they must comply ".
SPECIES AND PERIODS (according to article 18 of law 157): - from the third Sunday of September to 31 December: quail; dove gray; blackbird; lark; red partridge; common hare; wild rabbit; some thrushes; pheasant; Mallard; coot; moorhen; garganey; snipe; wood pigeon; woodcock; magpie; Fox; - from 30st October to 31th November: ptarmigan; black grouse; rock partridge; alpine chamois; roe deer; deer; fallow deer; mouflon (with the exception of the Sardinian population); white hare; - from 31st October to 15st December, or from 30st November to XNUMXst January: wild boar; - from XNUMX October to XNUMX November limited to the population of Sicily: Italian hare.
GUIDELINES FOR CALENDARS: - The Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (Ispra) has prepared guidelines based on scientific data to help the regions implement the calendars in compliance with Community law. In particular, we read in the document of the Institute headed by the Ministry of the Environment, "the start period of the pre-nuptial migration and the closing dates of the hunt for migratory birds" highlight a "more complex" situation: for ten species - observes Ispra - (gadwall, teal, mallard, pintail, coot, fighter, woodcock, cesena, song thrush and redwing) the closure of the hunt should take place before the end of January. While for the blackbird the expected closure to 31 December could be postponed to the first ten days of January. And on January 20, the stop should concern most of the ducks.
EVENTI: - Saturday 18 September animal rights activists in the square in Venice
NUMBER OF HUNTERS: - According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Agriculture, there are 710 hunters in 14 Regions for the 2008-2009 season. The region with the highest number of double goals is Tuscany (126.734 units), followed by Lombardy (90.750), Lazio (89.840) and Emilia Romagna (69.060).
Source: ANSA