Hunting: Sicily, hunting prohibited on the island of Marettimo, in the Egadi, but the parish priest Don Pinella protests, "here in winter the boys do not carry out any activities."
No guns in Marettimo. The dream of the parish priest of the small island fades. Hunting forbidden: Don Giuseppe Pinella's crusade hits the most beautiful. Just when the Region seemed close to saying yes. On "Ditelo a Rgs", the radio broadcast of Rgs, yesterday morning the Councilor for Agriculture Dario Cartabellotta clarified any doubts: "Here you do not shoot, it is forbidden". It all started with the priest's request. “Here the young people have nothing to do, let them get rid of”, had invoked Don Pinella, a totem pole on the small island of the Egadi. Who now blurts out: "Banning guns in these parts is a kind of abuse." The priest's request in recent weeks had embarrassed the Region. Because on the one hand the Department of Agriculture and Forestry had made it clear that hunting would be allowed in some micro areas. On the other hand, there was the Territory which in one fell swoop had excluded the whole island from hunting.
But now Dario Cartabellotta has swept away any doubts. The "verdict" came after a meeting with the Ars Environment Commission. No hunting in Marettimo. “Our sector - explained the regional councilor for Agriculture during the live broadcast of Ditelo a Rgs - has developed the hunting wildlife plan which is subjected to environmental impact assessments. However, the competence belongs to the branch to the Territory, which has decided to include the entire island of Marettimo in the environmental protection and protection project ". In a nutshell: it is true that in all the islands there are protected areas and some not protected. The reality is that in a perhaps hasty way Marettimo was considered a whole. “So in the end - explains Cartabellotta - the areas that should have been excluded were not excluded”.
Yet, in these parts, there are those who say that hunting is not a sin. And the gun makes more noise if it is a priest holding it. Perhaps because after all hunting is a bit of a discovery of the infinite relationship with nature. This is what Don Giuseppe Pinella thinks more or less. “Our boys are isolated - he explained - hunting was also a reason to talk about us again. We specify once again that this activity is not violent because we respect the environment. Eliminating guns from our island is an abuse of power for us. In Marettimo we have always lived by hunting and fishing because there is no agriculture here. During the winter there are only a hundred people left on the island and let's face it: the kids have nothing to do ".
A situation that until the end was unclear. And now? “We asked the environmental authority to review this position - concludes Cartabellotta - but at present the situation has not changed because hunting on the island of Marettimo according to environmental assessments would upset a balance especially in the movement of fauna. So the concept is that guns cannot enter ”.
November 28, 2013
Source: The Journal of Sicily-Trapani