The qualification exams were taken, now the agricultural operators of the province of Mantua they are ready to capture and suppress otters. It is 75 subjects which will be authorized to operate in the Lombard localities of Bozzolo, San Martino dall'Argine and Rivarolo: the last wait concerns the delivery of the card that actually authorizes them to capture and kill the animal, operations for which cages and compressed air guns can be used. Furthermore, in the case of weapons, the power must be less than 7,5 joule. There was a very careful preparation in this regard, also taking into account the formation meeting that was held by Luca Andreoli, who is in charge of the Hunting and Fishing Service on behalf of the Province, and who has studied the issues relating to the containment and eradication of otters.
The possibility offered to operators is the result of a series of changes which risked creating a lot of confusion in this regard. The recent changes introduced in the hunting law had suggested that another year would pass without any culling of the otters after last year's "break" which only caused bad mood. L'ISPRA he clarified everything, explaining how cages and firearms are options to be evaluated in the case of people who have attended specific courses and have specific authorizations.
The Mantuan province experienced a serious emergency precisely because of the rodent that was imported from South America. The twelve-month stop to capture has worsened the estimates concerning crops and harvests: specifically, a month ago it emerged that the specimens had even doubled, reaching 300 thousand (previously they were just under 170 thousand units). The fact that the absence of interventions has caused such an increase has made ISPRA retrace its steps, which a few years ago favored more than anything else methods considered "ecological" (bollards and nets in the first place).
Furthermore, in a short time, the European Union decided to include otters among the relevant invasive species: Brussels is asking to eradicate them and therefore to demolish them, weapons are this year's solution, unfortunately the economic resources are not adequate. The capture and killing are the latest twist in a story complicated by an article in the Environmental Related to the Stability Law, according to which the fight against nutria had to be included among the legislative disciplines envisaged for wild species, despite the fact that the animal was not protected.
I think that the otters, like the other pests, should be killed by all hunters, the problem would be solved and costs would be reduced.