La Confederation of Tuscan Hunters announced the first foray into hunting by the Italian Bird Protection League (LIPU). Through a fundraising petition, the need to overturn the national hunting law was underlined reduce the list of huntable species. A medium-term objective, which, however, could already achieve its first results immediately with a series of proposals and attacks on hunting calendars of the Italian Regions. Under the magnifying glass some species of migratory birds of great hunting interest taken as an icon of a new animal-environmentalist battle with respect to which one of the main protectionist associations, most likely intends to measure the strength of the Regional Councils and governors in the aftermath of the ballots and the new government structure. Obviously we also count on the divisions of the hunting world which, thanks to the populist and self-referential proposals, risks proving to be inadequate and unprepared for this latest challenge.
The CCT has promoted a project for this - "Date from the sky" - aimed at data collection to trace the trend of the consistency of the populations of hunting interest, their state of health, the phenology of the pass and anything else scientifically relevant to structure a management strategy useful for the conservation of the species in question. The results of this project will not only be used to counter the demand for the closure of the hunt for species Skylark, Redwing Thrush, Wild Dove, Pochard, Lapwing, Rock Ptarmigan and Rock Partridge (as requested by the LIPU), but also to defend the hunting calendar of Tuscany which for years has been able to combine the right scientific references with the responsible conservation of the species. In the particular of the LIPU petition, we try to provide some considerations that can also be food for thought.
In its press release, Lipu does not include any scientific references, is based exclusively on the emotional sensitivity linked to the biology of the species (eg The lark is "The messenger of the morning"). Only in the case of the Rock Partridge does it report a data that states that 25% of European subjects nests in Italy, without specifying the source. The statement talks about the threats of each of the 7 species mentioned and in all cases, in addition to the hunting pressure, reports very different problems to hunting such as climate change, the loss of suitable habitats, but above all the increasing use of intensive agricultural systems with the use of pesticides. A press release that is not intended to be just a stance towards a category (in this case hunting), should at least report the scientific values on which the considerations are based, as well as specify that over the years, hunting has already been limited and regulated by coordinating management choices even with the same Environmentalist and Protectionist Associations, precisely in order not to excessively affect those populations of wild animals that are threatened for reasons totally different from hunting.
In particular, for the Lark there is a National Management Plan approved by the Ministry of the Environment drawn up and based also on considerations and proposals of the same Lipu. Therefore it turns out as much as ever paradoxical and instrumental as on the one hand the Lipu sits at the Ministerial consultation tables and actively participates in the drafting of the Management Plan and on the other hand, a few months later, asks for the closure of the hunt! As for the Lapwing and other species, if still today there are many favorable habitats for the species such as meadows and wet meadows in many cases it is due to the hunting activity. In fact, it is often only thanks to the passion and the work of the hunters that suitable areas for the reproduction and rest of the species are maintained throughout the year. For the Sassello Thrush, reference is made above all to the problems linked to hunting in pre-nuptial migration, despite many of the scientific reports are absolutely not aimed at the study of this species. Indeed the data of migratory subjects are often spoiled by the presence of winterers, therefore not scientifically conclusive.
Finally, the hunt for the Wild Dove often takes place for only one day a year, exactly the first useful day of September, when the adult subjects have already started the migration towards Africa (wintering area); therefore the game bag is aimed almost exclusively at young subjects who, in all probability, would not be able to do so anyway address post - reproductive migration. We therefore have to write in complete serenity that the Environmentalist and Animalist Associations should avoid wasting time waging war on the hunting world, only to replenish their coffers with such fundraisers, but they should commit themselves and invest the huge economic resources of which have, for a proper battle of safeguarding and improving habitats suitable for the species in question, but above all they should undertake to raise awareness of the correct regulation of the use of pesticides in intensive agriculture, a real threat and cause of disappearance for resident and migratory bird species.