"Eleven regions with an absent or long-expired hunting plan and five globally threatened species that can still be hunted: they are the emblem of a hunting season which, in addition to the consequences of fires and droughts, starts in the name of infringements, absence of the state and serious regional shortcomings ". This was stated by Lipu on the eve of the new season starting on Sunday 17 September. Only ten Italian regions have a valid hunting plan, of which just four have a plan implemented over the last five years. For the others, planning is completely absent or has long since expired.
The case of the Lazio Region is sensational, whose plan, although formally in force, dates back to about 20 years ago (the summary of the situation region by region at the link): https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6FmQFfS_LyFX2UtaFc2SkhVSm8)
It is good to remember that the hunting fauna plan, provided for in article 10 of law 157/92, is an indispensable tool for the sustainability, at least in theory, of the hunting activity. Among other things, the plan must provide for the protection areas, the areas in which hunting can take place and the ways in which hunting must be carried out, in relation to environmental problems and the priority needs of nature conservation. The plan therefore also has its effects on the sites of the Natura 2000 network, where hunting is allowed, provided that the provisions on uniform minimum criteria are observed and the impact assessment under the Habitats Directive is carried out. On the latter aspect, the situation is really serious. In only three regions (Campania, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Sicily) the impact assessment was carried out in recent times while in the rest it is obsolete or even never carried out. An element of clear infringement of the directive, which we reported to the European Commission in recent days with a substantial dossier.
To this critical picture is added the situation of huntable bird species: of the 18 species in an unfavorable conservation status, including the lark and the ptarmigan ("Spec 3", or in an unfavorable conservation status, although not concentrated in Europe) , five are even classified as “Spec 1”, ie threatened globally, by the new Birds in Europe report. These are wild turtledove, rock partridge, lapwing, pochard and redwing, which should be immediately suspended from the hunting calendars and considered the subject of special protection interventions. To date, however, neither the regions have done so (except for some timid signs in the game bags) nor the Government and Ispra, from which we are still awaiting an opinion, have intended to intervene in any way. An incomprehensible situation, of near abdication of the state.
A final applause to Abruzzo which has conveniently postponed the opening of the season to 1 October and to Piedmont, which has kept some protections in the calendar for the species, including the lark and the ptarmigan, which are not huntable in the territory regional. In the darkness of general inattention, small lights of responsibility.
15 September 2017
Andrew Mazza
Lipu-BirdLife Italia Press Office