The decision of the councilor
With an allocation of 500.000 euros from the Lombardy Region, the 2021-2023 three-year regional plan for the eradication and containment of coypu closes, according to the provisions of a resolution approved by the council on the proposal of the councilor for agriculture, food sovereignty and forests, Alessandro Beduschi. “These funds – comments Councilor Beduschi – are transferred to the Provinces and the Metropolitan City to continue the activity of control and removal of this invasive species. In fact, for years nutria has continued to represent a serious problem for agriculture. A species that damages crops and plants. And that, by digging burrows and tunnels along the watercourses, with the effect of compromising the banks, endangers the integrity of roads and paths. This without counting the environmental, health and threat risk to biodiversity“.
Resource policies
The resources are allocated on the basis of the reports received by the Region on the implementation of the local plans approved by the Provinces and the Metropolitan City in line with the three-year regional plan. 10% of the funds is divided equally among the institutions, while 90% is determined proportionally on the basis of historical data of the last three years relating to the number of coypu disposed of. For the year 2023, the provinces benefiting from the greatest number of resources are therefore those of Mantua with 385.000 euros and Brescia with 59.000 euros. Following Cremona (12.000 euros), Pavia (7.900 euros) and Bergamo (7.500 euros).
Region in the field for some time
“The Region – continues Alessandro Beduschi – for years now has undertaken a series of related actions to counteract the presence of nutria. It intervenes through authorized and controlled selective killings, the creation of specific innovative projects which involve the use of cage-traps, the targeted census of animals, the identification of dens and the constant monitoring of results”. “A necessarily long and widespread work – concludes Beduschi – which will therefore continue with the approval of a new regional plan. An instrument for which resources equal to 1 million euros have already been allocated for the two-year period 2024-2025” (source: Lombardy Region).