Dear Director,
a few days after another letter from us, we are forced to turn to you again to respond to the attacks that Mrs. Margherita d'Amico brings - and this is nothing new - to hunting and her practitioners through the address book "The call of the forest". This time the excuse to ask for the closure of the hunt is Covid-19 and the need to prevent "medical personnel, hospitals, emergency vehicles, intensive care" from being in this delicate moment burdened by having to treat any victims of hunting accidents.
Although the lady continues to rely on the numbers given by the Victims of hunting association, regularly disowned every year to her utmost public spite, making us believe that the days of the hunting season are a sort of war bulletin, we are sure that the Italian health system is able to take care quietly, in case the need arises, of any unfortunate patient caused by hunting even in the unfortunate case of a resurgence of the virus. But if d'Amico is really driven by concern for our medical operators, because she did not take the opportunity to ask for the closure of a whole series of activities that report every season - and this is no exception - far more significant numbers of victims burdening the health system both from an economic and a human point of view?
Do we want to talk about mushroom makers, mountaineers, or more generally about hikers in the woods and mountains? And why not ask to prohibit the circulation of those who use the bicycle, perhaps in the city, a very dangerous practice since not a day goes by that the news does not report even serious accidents to the detriment of cyclists? Or maybe why not challenge the latest fad of scooters, hailed by many of the journalist's friends as a solution to the city's environmental problems, and which already boast a long list of victims, including deaths? These arguments seem unfounded to you, right? Here, then pause without bias a little even on the proposal to which your newspaper has given space and you will see that this will perhaps seem even worse.
Then we leave out the baseness of the usual mix between the figure and the activity of hunter and poacher, which does not even deserve comments. We do not ask for corrections or replication rights. There is little to reply to those who are not willing to question their ideas considering other points of view. Instead, we invite you to reflect. Because "La Repubblica", which has so many merits for information and culture in this country, always based on comparison and mutual understanding, does not make a qualitative leap on this issue by stopping to give voice to those who profess only ideological hatred towards hunting and its practitioners? If you really want to talk about hunting, and everything that comes after it - starting with serious wildlife and environmental management, which in this country is so difficult to do and which, yes, costs money and creates problems for the institutions and to citizens - at least let's do it seriously.
Best regards
The National President
Massimo Buconi
Bravo Mr. BUCONI. But the malice of the animal rights activists to which all the left-wing newspapers, including the Republic, give space with sloppy, false and petty information, must be reported to the AG. Friendly listening is not enough for these people. Good job.