For too long the offenses and the verbal assaults on social media they have become the norm rather than the exception. The comparison and presentation of different opinions and positions which should be based on theobjectivity and on the contrary, on the contrary, they are more often than not replaced by insults, imprecations and threats, even physical ones. Italian hunters know this well, forced to undergo this treatment without often even getting social platforms to block the most aggressive users. A theme on which Hunting Federation he had already placed his attention, which he now sees comforted by news of these days. In Germany, the Internet no longer represents a “legal vacuum”: those who post on the Web no longer have to endure abuses of language online. A huntress who calls herself Waidfräulein, "Forest girl," posted the story and a photo of a fox hunt on Facebook in March 2018.
Within hours, the post had attracted more than 2.000 comments of hate and outrage. Waidfräulein did not accept the insults, mostly addressed anonymously. Assisted by the Deutscher Jagdverband, the German Association of Hunters and by lawyer Heiko Granzin, she has taken multiple legal actions. A particular obstacle had to be overcome during the process. Aside from German law, Facebook's European headquarters are in Dublin and only the Irish prosecutor's office can request IP addresses and names in the course of a criminal investigation on Facebook. So it happened, the Irish prosecutor took the matter seriously and searched for the names and IP addresses of the offenders, some of them published under pseudonyms. The German media have also given wide coverage to the issue.
And now, two and a half years later, Waidfräulein's case has come to an end and in addition to the warnings to cease and desist from making offensive comments and expressions, the courts have handed down more than a dozen criminal and civil convictions, while they are pending. further proceedings. Hate commentators will pay heavy fines and high costs. A culprit, who used a derogatory term for the female sexual organ, he will have to pay 3.800 euros in court costs, legal fees and compensation. Denigrating terms such as "bitch" and "scum" have earned the authors the fines of 3.300 euros each. Others have to make payments between € 1.000 and € 2.000. Last June, the German Bundestag passed a law against right-wing extremism and hate crimes: insults on social media will be severely punished, including up to two years' imprisonment.
Calling a hunter "sick" or "murderer" can no longer be covered by the veil of freedom of expression and threats to life and health are criminal offenses that will prompt the prosecutor to intervene. In Germany, therefore, social media no longer move in a legislative vacuum where it is the platform manager who decides what is condemnable or not. And in Italy? Unfortunately, reports, complaints and exposures both on a personal and association level on this issue normally fall on deaf ears and there are very few cases in which justice can be obtained. For this reason the Federation is preparing a targeted bill to change the situation by expanding the cases sanctioned by the code, effectively protecting not only hunters, but all those who find themselves having to suffer manifestations of hatred and offenses for their legitimate activities and opinions, as already rightly happens for example for the ethnic background, religious belief, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability.
"Obtain the protection of thought and action, within the limits permitted by law - declared the national president Massimo Buconi - it is not a corporate claim, but a real battle for freedom in which we intend to engage strongly. The climate of hatred that has been created is no longer tolerable and is spreading alarmingly around hunting and, in a lesser but increasingly virulent tone for now, to other traditional activities typical of rurality without anyone seeming to pay attention or unable to act due to the lack of specific legal tools. We expect to find the same sensitivity and attention on this issue in parliamentarians from all sides and in non-ideologized public opinion that has rightly manifested itself in the face of other forms of discrimination. It's time to do something and do it now. And Federcaccia is doing it ”.