Caccia: Ravenna, ISPRA responds to requests for clarification regarding the question of hunting of fallow deer selection in the Classe Pinewood.
With regard to the age-old question about the fallow deer selection hunt in the Ravenna area of the Pineta di Classe, ISPRA, Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, has responded to the numerous requests for clarification made by animal rights and private citizens, specifying that "The management alternatives proposed to remove the nucleus of fallow deer without resorting to killing, when not explicitly prohibited by current regulations, do not appear technically feasible, or involve risks of determining further impacts on biodiversity". ISPRA's response comes after the rejection of the proposals for cancellation of the selection hunting advanced by animal rights activists already received by the TAR and the Council of State. The umpteenth confirmation of the goodness and necessity of the abatement operations now comes from ISPRA which has thus clarified in a note on the issue:
Ispra assessments regarding the planned felling of fallow deer in the Classe Pinewood.
In recent months, ISPRA has received numerous notes and requests for clarification from private citizens and associations, relating to the culling of a population of fallow deer planned by the Province of Ravenna in an area adjacent to the Pineta di Classe. With this note, ISPRA therefore intends to provide some clarifications on the intervention, on the technical opinions expressed by the Institute and on the technical-scientific evaluation criteria adopted by ISPRA for the drafting of these opinions.
First of all, it should be remembered that the Daino it is a huntable species pursuant to article 18, paragraph 1, letter c of law no. 157/1992. Furthermore, the general technical indications developed by ISPRA for the management of the Fallow Deer provide: “the conservation of historical nuclei in the Mediterranean environment <…> and of the more established populations present in the central-northern Apennines <…>. In these cases, densities compatible with forest renewal should be maintained and freezing of the area should be envisaged, through the systematic removal of dispersed individuals. Small isolated groups and those recently formed, often originating from escapes from fences or from illegal introductions, should be totally removed "(Source:" Guidelines for the Management of Ungulates "- ISPRA 91/2013).
The Emilia Romagna Region regulates the methods of collection of the species in Regulation 1/2008 for the "Management of ungulates in Emilia Romagna"; the management objectives are defined both within the regional guidelines, which incorporate the technical indications produced by ISPRA for the Fallow deer, and in the provincial planning tools (Wildlife Hunting Plan). For the Fallow Deer in the Pineta di Classe area, the management objective is to remove the animals in order to contain the stocks.
As for the fallow deer present in the Pineta di Classe and neighboring areas, in 2013 the province of Ravenna highlighted the problems caused, especially in the summer period, by the presence of fallow deer in the area, which is highly man-made and has a high tourist vocation. The province of Ravenna therefore sent ISPRA a request for an opinion in 2013 regarding the activation of a hunting plan for fallow deer in the areas falling within the "Ravenna 2" Hunting Territorial Area (ATC RA2) adjacent to cultivated land, by means of selection hunting, a technique that ensures a reduced impact on other species present in the area. Considering the management objectives of the species in the area, the province had provided for the removal of all the subjects counted therein, in order to remove the nucleus present.
ISPRA has assessed this plan as consistent with the provisions of art. 12 of the law n. 157/92 and with regional regulation 1/2008 and with the general objectives of limiting the species at national level. ISPRA therefore expressed a favorable technical opinion on the plan proposed by the province of Ravenna. However, the felling was not carried out and in August 2014 the province sent a further request to ISPRA which provided for i) the sampling in selection in the areas of ATC RA2 adjacent to the Pineta di Classe and affected by agricultural crops ii) the control of fertility for the core of the Class iii Pinewood) the implementation of measures to mitigate the risk of accidents (bollards, etc.) in the most critical points of the road network, together with the implementation of an awareness campaign for drivers.
ISPRA considered the approach proposed by the Province, articulated as above, to be shared from a technical point of view, but expressed technical doubts about the immunocontraception intervention proposed for the fallow deer nucleus of the Pineta di Classe. In this regard, ISPRA highlighted that the control of reproduction through the use of contraceptive vaccines in nature has significant limits, both in terms of long-term efficacy and with respect to authorization procedures. A possible application of this technique would therefore require an experimental phase and careful planning that allows to evaluate its feasibility, effectiveness according to the objectives and long-term sustainability in the light of operational and technical problems (Massei & Cowan, 2014 . Fertility control to mitigate human-wildlife conflict: a review. Wildlife Research 41 (1) 1-21). The use of substances used in contraceptive vaccines must in any case be prioritized in agreement with the competent Ministry.
It is also believed to add that from a technical point of view the release in suitable areas of fallow deer eventually captured in the areas in question is strongly inadvisable because it risks causing significant impacts in the release areas, to the disadvantage of native deer, while their transfer to enclosure is in contrast with the regional legislation (Emilia Romagna Region, resolution 1519 of 28-7-2003) which establishes that "it is not allowed the breeding of wild fauna that was not born in captivity or of which the legitimate provenance ”, thus clearly excluding the possibility of setting up a farm with wild-caught fauna. It should also be remembered that in Italy there are many examples of accidental escapes from fences that have led to the creation of small nuclei of fallow deer and other allochthonous ungulates (for example Ammotragus lervia, Cervus nippon), confirming the limited efficiency of the fences in the long term; the same origin of the fallow deer population of the Pineta di Classe is to be related to an escape from the enclosure. In the opinion of ISPRA, there is therefore a concrete risk that the transfer of animals into captivity will cause further management problems in the medium term.
In conclusion, the killing planned by the province of Ravenna on the population of Fallow Deer of the Pineta di Classe are configured as hunting activities, practiced on a huntable species (art.18, paragraph 1, letter c of the law n. 157/1992) and foreseen, programmed and regulated in detail by the Emilia Romagna Region (Regulation n.1 / 2008 for the "Management of ungulates in Emilia Romagna"), not unlike what happens in other parts of the country and in the same province. By way of information, it should be noted that, at national level, the Fallow Deer is collected in a hunting regime in 23 provinces of the 60 in which it is present, and that in the Emilia Romagna region in the 2009-2010 hunting season 961 animals were collected (Source: ISPRA Ungulate Data Bank).
The approach initially envisaged by the province of Ravenna for the culling plan of the fallow deer nucleus was, from a technical point of view, consistent with the national and regional regulations on the subject, as highlighted by ISPRA in its competent opinions. The management alternatives proposed to remove the core of fallow deer without resorting to culling, when not explicitly prohibited by current regulations, do not appear technically feasible, or involve risks of determining further impacts on biodiversity. For the activation of forms of reproduction control, such as immunocontraception, an experimentation phase would in any case be necessary to verify its effectiveness and practicability, ensuring full compliance with the authorization procedures for the use of the substances envisaged.
Finally, it should be noted that the principles of priority activation of ecological methods, provided exclusively for control activities pursuant to article 19 of law 157/92, do not apply to the sampling conducted in a hunting regime.
(May 21, 2015)
ISPRA - Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research