Hunting: Molise, 2014-15 Hunting Calendar, WWF and Legambiente are turning to the EU asking for an infringement procedure for the Region.
The pre-opening start of the hunting season provokes the piqued reply of WWF and Legambiente Molise, ready to send a request for the start of an infringement procedure against the Region to the European Union. "After the first three days of pre-opening hunting, granted by the Molise Region for the hunting of Tortora with the illegitimate resolution 416 of September 2, 2014 which decreed the death of tens of thousands of specimens, a new resolution arrived on time, the 447 of 20 September 2014 which allows pre-opening hunting of eleven other species (pheasant, quail, dove, lark, magpie, hooded crow, jay, blackbird, wood pigeon, fox, common hare) - reads a note - provision already informally anticipated to the hunting organizations by the Hunting Councilor, Cristiano Di Pietro goes against the binding opinion of the ispra who had expressed his refusal to advance the hunting activity and the use of accompanying dogs in the month of September . As if wishing to manage hunting as a private matter, the Molise Region had already abused its powers: by not publishing the hunting calendar within the deadline established by the law of June 15; by not approving the new Wildlife Hunting Plan, an essential tool for the management and planning of hunting and by not following up the memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of the Environment, the Abruzzo Region, the Lazio Region and the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise for the conservation of the Marsican brown bear ratified with Resolution 47 of 10/02/2014, with which it committed itself not only to identifying ecological corridors in order to expand the availability of areas potentially suitable for the Marsican bear on the Matese Mountains , but also to regulate wild boar hunting with the shooting technique and the use of the limiere dog in the area adjacent to the Abruzzo National Park, as well as to subject the SPAs and SCIs to hunting incidence assessment ”.
“In short - continue the environmental associations - everything is established in the total absence of the rules, in fact, in the resolutions there is a complete lack of reasons to justify the delay with which it was decided to anticipate the opening of the hunt. Furthermore, there is the failure to comply with article 18, paragraph 2, of law 157/92: this rule provides that in the event of an anticipation of the opening, an anticipation of the closure of the hunt is also carried out, in order to keep the hunt unchanged. time frame in which the species is huntable. Moreover, the advances provided for by the resolutions were not submitted to the expert opinion of the ispra, as required by law 157/92. One thinks that the only reason that led the administration to choose the pre-opening of the hunt was to satisfy exclusively the hunting associations that have found in the new Regional Council a precious ally, unable to adequately manage the wildlife heritage. In fact, in the decision taken, it was not taken into account that late summer is a particularly delicate moment for the biological cycle of the fauna and especially for the new born and that this year, the summer season was particularly anomalous and strongly stressed the animals ".
“Currently, - reads the environmentalist note - we are in full migratory phase and the early opening of hunting will result in the death of many species and could also involve animals protected by European Directives. For this reason the WWF Molise and Legambiente Molise launch an appeal to the Molise Region to withdraw Resolution 447 and adapt the hunting calendar to the needs not only of hunters but also and above all of the wildlife heritage. WWF Molise and Legambiente Molise expect a similar request to be shared even by the most responsible hunters who should be aware of the seriousness of these choices, since they negatively affect the already highly stressed animal populations. The two associations, in light of the distortion of the hunting calendar, will send the request for an infringement procedure to the European Community against the Molise Region as it has violated articles 1 and 2 of Law 157.
(September 24, 2014)
Source: PrimoPianoMolise