Hunting, Weapons and Regulations. The Hunting Season has just opened a little over a month and shortly, on 5 November 2015, the regulatory changes related to Legislative Decree 121/2013 relating to the magazine capacity of weaponry hunting as well as the amendments to art. 38 TULPS introduced by law 43/2015.
There are many uncertainties on the issue so let's try to shed some light thanks to the contribution of Avv. Rosario Maglio, at least as regards the discipline relating to the limits for the ammunition of the hunting rifles.
The lawyer takes stock of the issue with an in-depth analysis of the previous legislation and the interpretative criticalities arising within the jurisprudence of legitimacy and merit, then dedicating ample space to Law No. 166/2014 and the limits set by the current regulatory regime in exercise of the hunt.
The discipline prior to the 2014 reform and the interpretative problems that arose during its validity.
The art. 13, paragraph 1, of the law 157 of 1992, in its original version (before the recent modification introduced first by the DL ..., then converted with mod., In Law 11 August 2014, n.116) established that "the hunting activity is allowed with the use of the shotgun with smooth bore up to two rounds, repeating and semi-automatic, with a magazine containing no more than two cartridges, of caliber not exceeding 12, as well as with a rifle with a rifled bore barrel with single manual loading or semi-automatic repeater of caliber not less than 5,6 mm with empty case no less than 40 mm in height.
The limitation on the number of cartridges in hunting rifles was introduced in our system in implementation of Directive 79/409 / EEC, which in Article 8 had imposed on Member States to prohibit the use of any means of capture or killing in mass or non-selective of the bird species protected by the Directive and in particular of the species listed in Annex IV, letter a).
The express reference to the species of "birds" had suggested to the legislator to differentiate the discipline between smoothbore guns, normally used for hunting birds, and rifled guns, used instead for hunting other types of prey ( mostly mammals). The violation of the prohibition imposed by art. 13 was criminally sanctioned by art. 30, letter h), of the same law no. 157/92, which provided for the penalty of a fine (up to 3.000.000 lire) for those who hunt with prohibited means (considering such a rifle containing more cartridges than those permitted).