The chronicles of these days report a series of acts of vandalism to the detriment of the stalking for hunting purposes in different areas of Italy, most likely by subjects who, due to a distorted ideological setting, feel legitimized a carry out real criminal actions against those who carry out a lawful and strictly regulated activity such as hunting. We are perfectly aware that these are not isolated phenomena but a real strategy implemented by different groups of animal-environmental extremists, which unfortunately does not materialize only in the damage to the structures but, too often, also in a systematic criminal action to prevent the legitimate exercise of hunting and fishing.
A situation that I have repeatedly denounced to the competent institutions and bodies, so far without appreciable results on the part of those who would have the task of prosecuting and punishing certain behaviors that I do not hesitate to define as criminals. We would like to remind you that in January 2017, during my last term in the Veneto Regional Council, I presented and approved a regional law (No. 1/2017) for punish with an administrative sanction, which ranged from a minimum of 600 euros to a maximum of 3600 euros, anyone who puts in place acts of obstruction or disturbance from which the regular hunting activity may be disturbed or interrupted or harasses hunters in the course of their activities.
This law, unfortunately also opposed by some hunting manager that perhaps today draws up pompous press releases to denounce these incidents to the detriment of hunters, was challenged by the Constitutional Court because it also regulated issues of public order that are the exclusive competence of the state. For this reason, after the appeal by the Court, I immediately had the same law presented to the national parliament where it still lies, probably because still no one among those who define themselves as "friends of hunters" has decided to undertake to bring it into question.
Considering the increase in cases of damage and aggression against hunters, and waiting to finally be introduced also in theItalian legal system the crime of ecoterrorism, I hope that the representatives within the national Parliament who say they represent the instances of the hunting world take action as soon as possible to apply all the necessary pressure because the law against those who intentionally want to prevent the legitimate exercise of hunting and fishing, which I have written and approved by the Veneto Regional Council, can finally be approved by the national Parliament as well. Hunters are Serie A citizens with a perfectly clean criminal record who carry out a lawful activity for which they pay hefty license fees every year, and for this they deserve respect and attention (Hon. Sergio Berlato, Italian Deputy in the European Parliament and National President of the Association for the Defense and Promotion of Rural Culture).