Hunting in Liguria: the Province of Imperia pronounces itself negatively on the challenge of the Hunting Calendar by the environmentalists, "it creates problems for a correct management of the territory".
With reference to the order of the Liguria TAR issued on 17 October 2012, the Province of Imperia ruled negatively on the challenge of the regional hunting calendar as it would cause many problems for the correct management of the Ligurian territory.
On the issue, the provincial councilor for hunting and fishing, Alberto Bellotti, and the Director of the Territory Surveillance Sector, Dr. Giuseppe Carrega, wanted to specify, "The challenge of the Regional Hunting Calendar, even if shared by some Environmental Associations, continues to create many problems with regard to an adequate and correct management of the Ligurian territory and in particular of the provincial one. If in fact many problems had already led to the first precautionary ruling of the TAR Liguria, in fact denied by the subsequent ordinance in question, the application of that in question risks dangerously creating irreversible damage not only to the category of hunters, not only to that of farmers but also to that economic induced connected to the hunting activity and this, without a clear result in terms of the environmental interests underlying the appeals proposed by the Environmentalist Associations.
All the efforts made so far by the Administration in concert with the hunting and agricultural world aimed at the territorial rebalancing of ungulates and, therefore, at limiting the damage caused by these as contributions for prevention, realization of projects aimed at mapping the areas most affected by the damage and their possible coincidence with the territories reserved for the respective boar hunting teams, not least the enormous work being carried out aimed at ascertaining the hunting pressure index by the aforementioned teams, risk being fact, nullified by a provision which, also due to its precautionary nature, and therefore, of mere "first examination", is partly inadequate and partly illegitimate.
In fact, if on the one hand the same provision not only does not take into account the multiple and essential public interests represented by the hunting and agricultural world as well as those of an economic nature linked to the operators in the sector, and not even the indications of the ISPRA regarding the prohibition of use of lead ammunition for which, in any case, it still provides a transition period for their replacement, on the other hand it appears illegitimate in the part in which in fact it suspends the effectiveness of a part of the regional calendar which in reality DOES NOT EXIST.
Also for this reason, the Provincial Administration of Imperia reserves the right to appeal as a precautionary measure before the Council of State, also by way of adhesion to what, it is hoped, the Liguria Region will present.
Therefore, we do not agree with the content of the ordinance in point or that of the subsequent regional press release which intervene with timing and methods that do not allow either the procurement of alternative ammunition or the dangers associated with the use of new and unknown ammunition by each single hunter for each single weapon.
If we add to this that, in any case, there is a legal reserve regarding matters related to weapons, ammunition and explosives, it goes without saying that the aforementioned provision appears even more taken with inadequate terms and methods.
In any case, it should be specified that the ordinance in question to all want to grant prohibits the use of ammunition containing lead in hunting for ungulates but not also the possession of the same which, in itself, is not illegal. Therefore the hunting of ungulates can continue peacefully with the use of adequate ammunition ".
19 October 2012