With hunting of selection it is possible to manage the species hunted in relation to their number, through the use of a technical-scientific model that helps the conservation of the fauna in the area.
Of Figure selecontroller is the “super-expert” in the targeted collection of game, who puts into practice the selection hunting according to very strict criteria. There selection hunting it is practiced in a considerable portion of the territory of central-northern Italy, and in recent years it has personally involved a growing number of hunters.
This phenomenon is quite recent and a good percentage of the territory administered with this form of hunting is the result of experiences gained in about fifteen years starting in 1996. The increase in the adoption of selection hunting as a control phenomenon of wildlife, represents a real change in the recent history of Italian hunting, since the hunting season represents only one of the phases of management.
What is selection hunting?
Let's start by saying what it is not. It does not consist in hunting sick or discarded animals, as these fall into the category of “sanitary culls”, in order to prevent epidemics among wildlife.
Selection hunting is a hunting system of Central European origin. It is based on the count of the animals belonging to the huntable species (i.e. censuses) and the consequent slaughter plan divided by age groups (children, adults, sub-adults, females). Initially, the number of animals to be killed is estimated according to the purpose to be achieved: for example, there may be the need to increase a given population, or decrease it or keep it stable. In relation to the objective to be achieved, the animals to be killed are decided. Those who adopt selection hunting will always keep in mind that the fundamental purpose is to preserve and maintain the structure of the population (puppies, sub-adults, adults, females, males) unchanged.
Generally it is considered counterproductive not to carry out at least 90% a culling plan, because unexpected results would be obtained, such as leaving an unbalanced and non-pyramidal population structure with puppies (many) at the base and the old (few) at the apex. .
Selection hunting is adopted, in particular, to control and manage the animal populations of "red" ungulates: roe, fallow deer, cervo, mouflon.
La selection hunting, in essence, it is a careful and in-depth study on the populations of wild animals, which aims to conserve and balance the number of animals in a given area.
For what concern "selecontroller"It can be said that this is the hunter who, after participating in a specific course and passing it with the relative examination, cooperates with the provincial hunting agents in the numerical control activities of the so-called" intrusive "or unbalanced species. demographic point of view. The term "selecontroller"This figure of collaborator does not coincide at a national level, as it is not mentioned by both national and regional legislation on hunting: the term was borrowed from the Apennine experience in the selection hunting for ungulates and has now become part of the vocabulary of the hunter. Its etymology refers explicitly to the concept of selection hunting, as well as to that of the numerical control of fauna sanctioned by art. 17 of the national hunting law n. 157/92. The selecontroller has the task of the targeted collection of a specific species, which can operate through special licenses during the prohibited hunting period as well as in protected protected areas. The selecontroller is under the direct responsibility of the Provincial hunting agents and must comply with a rigorous protocol that regulates the various phases of their activity: from the mode of activation of the selecontroller, up to the treatment and destination of the garments removed. This figure was born in Lombardy in 2002 following the amendment of article 41 of the regional law on hunting 26/93, which added to the assistants in the numerical control of the invasive fauna already indicated above, a new figure: that of the "…. operators expressly authorized by the provinces, selected through specific preparation courses for wildlife management ". Each selecontroller, to collaborate with the hunting agents, must be registered in the provincial register of selecontrollers, come from the ranks of expert ungulate hunters and reside mostly in the territories adjacent to the area to be covered.
It should be emphasized that selection hunting is particularly aimed at maintaining the balance of the populations of boars in Northern Italy.
La selection hunting joint to selecontroller, represent a scientific method of wildlife conservation, to prevent a given population of huntable animals from growing too large in relation to their host environment or disappearing. Those who spoke of selection hunting many years ago were considered almost like killers, when instead they had already understood the importance of maintaining the balance of fauna, given the strong (excessive) anthropization of natural environments.