Pre-opening and lark hunting, the requests of the Tuscan Hunters

The Confederation focused on the recent approval of the regional hunting calendar and on the resolution to be passed.

The debate and often the controversies that revolve around the theme of Hunting Calendar, animate the discussion among hunters; we know that the discipline of hunting, hunting times, huntable species, etc., represent the living blood of us hunters, the ancestral spring that innervates the passion and love for this extraordinary activity. The hunting calendar, approved a few days ago by the Tuscany Region, represents, as we have had the opportunity to comment on another occasion, a good compromise that follows the calendars approved over the years by our region. A well-supported text from the scientific point of view, even if it has some distortions, which arises from an articulated discussion with the interested parties and which responds to the objective of providing legal certainty for hunters, given the negative precedents of other regions.

As we all know, the Calendar will have to be supplemented by the Resolution of the Regional Council on the so-called pre-opening, which concerns some species of hunting interest, including wild turtledove (Streptopelia turtur), wood pigeon, blackbird, some aquatic, corvids, etc., but also species with a strong impact on agricultural crops such as starling, albeit in regime by way of derogation. We also recall that in the document presented during the consultations by the Confederate Associations, it was proposed to include in the aforementioned Resolution, also the collection of the Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) and of the Pigeon (Columba livia livia). In addition, the request for the inclusion of the use of the retriever in the pre-opening days was also made explicit. Proposals that we hope will be accepted and included in the specific resolution.

The recent Ministerial initiatives and the pressures put in place by the Ministry of the Environment towards the Regions must find a firm and decisive response from them to reaffirm the pre-opening; in fact, the regulations introduced for years on withdrawal times, game bags and species, the limitations in hunting mobility, etc., are abundantly within the principles of the sustainability of the hunting effort and the conservation of the species concerned. This, also in full compliance with the scientific indications and guidelines produced by Ispra. The CCT, with a sense of responsibility, therefore asks the Tuscany Region to maintain this approach and ensure in the manner and on schedule, the approval of the Resolution allowing this activity.

The assurances obtained in the recent meetings give us no reason to fear otherwise, even if the attacks recently launched by environmental and animal rights associations in other regions must be taken into due consideration. Always with a constructive spirit, and always on the subject of the hunting calendar, we also want to highlight a request made by the Tuscan Federcaccia and fully shared in a unitary context, relating to the species lark. In particular, it is required to overcome the limits introduced by this year's Hunting Calendar. A request that aims to introduce corrections on the limit of the heads for the collection of the Skylark species in compliance with the provisions introduced by the "National Plan on the management of the Skylark species".