Hunting in Italy: talks about it in the European Parliament

Hunting in Italy: it is talked about in the European Parliament

Hunting in Italy: the European Parliament talks about it with the Hunting Associations and the European parliamentarians; problem transfers and calendars venatori the main topics of the discussion.

European deputies of the Democratic Party and the leaders of the Italian hunting associations met at the European Parliament in Brussels to talk about hunting. The meeting was convened and chaired by Renata Briano, Vice President of the Intergroup Biodiversity, Hunting and Rural Activities. Alongside her, MEPs Paolo De Castro, David Sassoli, Damiano Zoffoli, Elena Gentile, Luigi Morgano, Nicola Danti, Alessia Mosca and Brando Benifei, all interested in listening to the demands of the hunting world. Representative and large is the delegation of hunters made up of the President of Federcaccia Gianluca Dall'Olio, the President of Arci Caccia Osvaldo Veneziano, the President of Enalcaccia Lamberto Cardia, the President of EPS Martin Ganner, the President of Italcaccia Gianni Corsetti, the President of Free Hunt Paolo Sparvoli. Representing FACE, Federation of Associations for Hunting and Conservation of the EU, were Vice President Giovanni Bana (also representing ANUU) and Secretary General Filippo Segato.

The problem of the transfer and the issues of Italian hunting calendars were at the center of the discussion. Renata Briano highlighted the discrepancies between Italy and other countries of the Mediterranean basin, such as France and Greece, underlining the need to start a process with the European Commission so that the calendars effectively take into account the scientific evidence on bird migration. Furthermore, satisfactory and realistic solutions must also be found on the transfer, also because ISPRA itself has provided scientific data that confirm the good state of conservation of the species.

Regarding the infringement procedures launched against Italy PD MEP observed: “The decisions of the European Commission must be respected. But on acquired facts, such as the judgments of the courts that proved the Regions right and the scientific data that clearly establish the periods of pre-nuptial migration, it is not possible to negotiate and it is necessary to defend oneself ”. The problems that afflict Italian hunting are a symptom of the need to network between institutions. For this reason, all MEPs pledged to start a confrontation between the European Commission, the Italian government and the hunting associations. “It is necessary to better supervise the European institutions - said Bana - with a constant presence setting the discussions on the economic value of hunting as well. To this end, hunters have at their disposal the privileged channel of the Biodiversity, Hunting and Rural Activities Intergroup which aims to bring the needs of hunters to the attention of European institutions ”.

To insert the Italian events in the broader European framework was Filippo Segato, who recalled the Fitness Check currently conducted by the European Commission for assess whether the Habitats and Birds Directives are still fit for purpose. There are clear signs from the Juncker Commission indicating a "merger and modernization" of the Directives. A revision of the Directives, however, is far from obvious in the results and FACE, although aware of the defects in the transposition into national law, is not in favor of their rewriting.

The President of the Integruppo Biodiversity, Hunting and Rural Activities, the German Karl-Heinz Florenz, also greeted the Italian delegation, congratulating himself on the success of the initiative and declaring his willingness to give the requests of Italian hunters the importance they deserve in the European context.

(June 21, 2015)

Hunting Federation