Shooting with the hunting trophy. Crouched with rifle in hand next to a majestic specimen of fallow deer. The photograph posted on social media has sparked controversy. And not only. In addition to criticism and dissent, there are also death threats. Protagonist is the MEP from Lecco Pietro fiocchi, elected from the ranks of the Brothers of Italy, member of the Commission for the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, elected in Brussels in 2019 and in the past chairman of the board of directors of the American division of Fiocchi Munizioni, a company specializing in the production of small-caliber cartridges.
«I have filed a complaint, I can understand the different sensitivities on the hunting theme, but the threats are not acceptable, ”he explains after turning to the postal police. Step back. On a visit to Bulgaria as a member of the special commission on the fight against cancer the MEP attended a hunting trip in a private reserve. «It is a great emotion that I would like to share with you thanks to this photo. Enchanting landscapes and magnificent animals, in the company of splendid people ", the words that accompany the shot. Hundreds of comments, many criticisms and insults that prompted him to turn to the police.
"Bulgaria is full of Covid, who knows maybe there is divine justice". "Try to go to Afghanistan to bully with a gun", just some of the phrases he filed a complaint about. And there are those who have come to threaten to make him do the end of the deer. «I am proud to go hunting and to respect the rules - replies Fiocchi, who has always been at the forefront in the defense of hunting -. It is a passion that unites thousands of people all over the world, to practice it you need to have it clean criminal record, pass accurate medical examinations and above all selective examinations ».
And to whom, among the over 400 messages on his Facebook page, politely suggests that perhaps that photo delivered to social media could have been avoided, the MEP replies: «I have nothing to regret or justify. I am proud to be a hunter and to have belonged to a family of hunters for five generations. Instead, it will be those who infamous and threatened me who will have to pay the bill ». It is not the first time that Fiocchi on his social pages publishes photographs that portray him next to leaders just killed. «Yet what is happening in these hours had never happened - he continues -.
A mud machine powered by the tam tam on animal rights groups which has turned the controversy into intimidation. If anything, poachers are to be condemned and not those who abide by the rules, respecting the environment that we are called to preserve. The hunters are the first to work in this direction ». In the meantime, however, the rain of comments does not stop and there is also some calm advice. "Take a nice walk with binoculars and a camera," writes Franca. "I would just like to say that I was in Bulgaria for the important project that we as a European Parliament are carrying out to fight cancer, the goal is ambitious: three million fewer cancer deaths by 2030. But no one has talked about this. . There is not only the photo with the deer, there is also much more ", concludes Pietro Fiocchi (Source: Corriere della Sera).