Too many otters in the municipal area, so the acting mayor of Viadana (Mantua) Alessandro Cavallari decides that hunters authorized to shoot this harmful species will be able to do so even at night, that is, until midnight. The first citizen issued a special ordinance in which it is recalled that, based on the three-year Provincial Plan of containment and eradication of nutria, hunters have the right to go into action from one hour before sunrise and up to one hour after sunset, a period of time that is now considered too small, also because not everyone is available during the day when works and also the shootings with a firearm, given the natural behavior of the rodent, mostly nocturnal, they do not allow a significant and lasting impact on the population size.
The ordinance specifies that the presence of the dens and the excavation of tunnels in the embankment structures of the canals by the otters constitute a serious hydraulic risk and danger for the safety of things and people, that these animals damage the crops, finally that different reports from citizens, operators in the agricultural sector and their representative associations indicate an increased presence, in the last period, of otters in the municipal area, especially at night. Hence the need to authorize hunting until midnight, in any case no later than 24 hours and not before 5, where the movement of animals is more intense, extending the previously scheduled time.
This extension will be temporary, in force until May 18, and subject to verification by the operators or the person in charge of the significant increase in the culling. The Municipality has also confirmed the reimbursement for operators authorized to capture and kill the harmful species, 2.5 euros each. Considering that for 2020 3.000 euros have been budgeted for this item of expenditure, there is money to eliminate 1.200 otters (Laprovinciacr.it).