A deep concern
Taking note of the persistent action of controls on falconers and breeders of birds of prey by the forestry authorities throughout the national territory in recent months, UNCF - National Union of Hunters and Falconers, sectoral Federcaccia, wants to express the deepest concern for the modus operandi that are being reiterated towards falconry. Without prejudice to our condemnation of any act of poaching, and supporting the competent authorities in the activities of control and prevention of possible offenses by criminal individuals, we take note of repeated and massive interventions extended to the whole national territory reiterated over the years, and against of this we find ourselves today wondering if such a deployment of forces has actually had a real response such as to justify the methods and efforts made. If the numbers support an effective discrepancy, we believe the time has come to agree on control and self-control protocols that can on the one hand increase collaboration between falconry and the forces of order, and on the other decrease the stress that these operations inevitably cause systematically submit to the animal.
Cumbersome bureaucracy
As far as the birds of prey breeding sector is concerned, on the other hand, while noting some unique positives, for years we have denounced an overall cumbersome bureaucracy, which places Italy at the bottom of the European ranking of the average times for issuing the so-called "SOURCE C" certificates. Unfortunately, these delays have serious repercussions, both on animal welfare and on the economic induced activities that these activities bring to the benefit. In fact, we want to underline that the management of birds of prey cannot ignore the very biology of these animals, which exclusively fixes the imprinting windows useful for consolidating the correct psycho-physical-behavioral development only in the very first weeks, and which will subsequently have repercussions therefore on the well-being and training of these subjects.
Sector regulation
Despite ourselves, this need is not yet taken seriously by the competent authorities, who persist in standardizing the procedure for issuing certificates in the same way as a commercial object and not a living being as it is, with the result of providing incentives for against importation from abroad, with animals perhaps less genetically selected, but available in the right biological times and therefore more manageable and trainable. UNCF immediately makes itself available to support with all its strength every initiative aimed at a global regulation of the sector, which can place all breeders, regardless of size, in the best possible conditions for a rapid transfer of animals to future owners, reducing the impact of controls on timing while maintaining their effectiveness, and fostering a climate of ever deeper collaboration between the parties (source: FIDC).