As I promised I will send this letter by e-mail to Environment Ministers and of Agriculture, as well as to my Regional Councilor with responsibility for Hunting, I will do so not as an MEP but as a simple citizen hunter because I believe it is their institutional duty to listen to the voice of every single citizen.
I would like every Italian hunter to take my example by sending this appeal to respect our rights, trampled on without reason with the excuse of the covid emergency.
Here is the text of my letter which you are free to reproduce and make yours. One voice alone goes out quickly, many voices together become an unstoppable echo, hunters friends let us hear!
To the kind attention
By Min. Sergio Costa
Ministry of the Environment and the Protection of the Territory and the Sea
By Min. Teresa Bellanova
Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies
And of the Regional Councilor with Hunting Delegation of my Region
Dear all,
in relation to the government provisions that came into force on November 6 with the last DPCM, we ask for revisions and clarifications based on the ban and limitations to hunting, imposed in the red and orange areas. If from the reading of the Dpcm it is clear that in the yellow zone hunting is possible without particular limitations, it has not yet been clarified with what territorial limitations it is possible to hunt in the orange zones and why in the red zones, where it is prohibited, hunting does not is it comparable to other individual sports activities that can be carried out in the open air? In fact, in the red areas there are wider and more serious restrictions than in the other areas, but also limited exceptions as indicated in Article 3 paragraph 4 of the Prime Minister's Decree of November 3, 2020 a distance of at least one meter from any other person and with the obligation to use respiratory protection devices; it is also allowed to carry out sporting activities exclusively outdoors and individually. " Why is "Hunting" as a sport practiced exclusively in the open air, where social distancing is extremely greater, by necessity, than that imposed by the DPCM, is excluded from the list of practicable outdoor sports? Hunting is not simply a sport, but as Coldiretti herself pointed out, it is essential for the environment, for the containment of the proliferation of wildlife, which causes so much damage to agriculture and people. Why are these restrictions imposed when hunting fits perfectly into the list of practicable activities? Furthermore, why in regions defined as "red zones", is it possible to practice the collection of truffles and not hunting considering the identical conditions in which these activities take place? Sometimes these restrictions seem to be the result not of a scientific conviction, but purely ideological, to the detriment not only of hunting and hunters, but also of other categories involved. It is really difficult to understand the reason why hunting is allowed in one region and prohibited in another, when the context is the same. Certainly our institutions are particularly attentive to animal health, in view of this, have we thought about the certainly not pleasant conditions in which hunters' dogs find themselves, without being able to go hunting or simply walking in the woods? Are there any animals of greater importance than others, or do they all need to be protected according to needs? Convinced that there are no concrete justifications for the limitations imposed, we ask for the reopening of hunting in the red areas and the possibility of moving to the municipality of the ATCs to which you are registered, albeit with all the necessary precautions and with the utmost respect for the rules, as this restriction is a clear discrimination of our category, and risks generating considerable economic and environmental damage to the agricultural sector and to the countless activities related to the hunting world, such as armories and reserves, which while being able to remain open have seen their users zeroed by these measures.
Italian hunter and citizen