Project Cinofilia Arci Caccia CSAA, many YES from the Norcia Convention; prejudice is a threat to the environment and fauna: full harmony between hunters, conservationists, scientists and administrators.
"Injury is a damage to the environment, the fauna and the territory". This is the guiding thread of the reflection that gathered the participants in the conference “Cinofilia is green economy. Made in Italy in the world ”organized, on Saturday XNUMXst March, by the Arci Caccia CSAA of Umbria, with the patronage of the Municipality of Norcia. Many people responded to the Association's invitation and the debate, introduced by Giorgio Filippucci, dog lover of the Arci Caccia, was frank, direct, without a network. On the other hand, this is what we wanted at the same time that Emanuele Bennati, president of the Arci Caccia dell'Umbria, called Antonino Morabito, head of Fauna and Animal Welfare of Legambiente, Bernardino Ragni, professor of environmental Zoology and management to be part of the speakers. fauna of the University of Perugia, Marco Ciarafoni, national president of the Sports and Environmental Activities center, Fernanda Cecchini, councilor for agriculture and hunting of the Umbria region, Gian Paolo Stefanelli, mayor of Norcia, Osvaldo Veneziano, national president of Arci Caccia to whom they added, during the debate, Massimo Buconi, national vice president of Federcaccia, Oliviero Olivieri, president of the Sibillini Park, Giuliano Sorbaioli, president of Urca Umbria and Giampaolo Pollini, president of Arci Caccia of Orvietano.
The honors were made by Stefano Alemanno who in setting up the presidency to which he also called Giancarlo Comastri, honorary president of the Arci Caccia dell'Umbria, recalled how there is a close link between dog lovers and wildlife management. Theme taken up by the mayor Stefanelli who undertook, on the basis of a request made by the Venetian president, to make stable, as far as he is concerned, the appointment in the context of the Festival dedicated to the black truffle of Norcia.
At the same time Emanuele Bennati explained, both at the beginning and at the end of the conference, that the Arci Caccia initiative is open to those who want to share a path and that is why the results of the discussion will be the subject of a subsequent operational meeting. with all the associative and institutional components, as requested in the interventions of the president of the Urca and of the Arci hunting of Orvieto, so that the good intentions do not become dead letters but concrete facts. It is a question of recovering, said Bennati, even some absence that for reasons that are not understandable would have done well to accept the invitation in the collective interest of hunters and dog lovers.
For Bennati it is necessary to show society the management commitment of hunters through days dedicated to visiting the restocking and capture areas. On those occasions, visitors will be able to learn how important it is for hunters to protect the environment and biodiversity in the interest of all citizens. Doing so would strengthen the roles and functions of the hunters themselves.
Giorgio Filippucci, in his report, explained the reasons for the project aimed at networking the various public and private structures linked to the management of fauna with associations and entrepreneurs in order to create opportunities for carrying out the canine activity in compliance with conservation and possibility of creating useful resources for the local economy. In short, for Filippucci "on our territories, starting with those of Umbria and central Italy, the conditions can be created to obviate the migration of dog lovers to" foreign lands "and maintain useful resources in Italy for many, starting with protection. of biodiversity. This explains the juxtaposition between dog lovers and green economy ".
It is about the intervention of prof. Ragni, from the height of the scientific value of the report, which triggered the discussion on the prejudice linked to the themes of hunting. For Ragni, data and slides in hand, “in most cases hunting is not the main factor in the destruction of fauna”. The reasons for the cons are to be found “in the modification of the rural landscape and crops” without counting the “consumption of the territory and its fragmentation” due to the “development of infrastructures”. Furthermore, for Ragni there is a relationship between the modification of the landscape due to monocultures, intensive cultivation, urbanization with the reduction, interruption and simplification of habitats which has determined the drastic reduction of special faunal "nobles" and the increase of opportunistic species.
In agreeing with Filippucci's report, prof. Ragni did not hesitate to say that "there is no a priori ecological prejudice with respect to the possibility of creating dog-loving areas even in protected areas, but it is a question of making this possibility arise by obeying the rules of conservation and sustainable use". “The ambition of the project and the removal of prejudices can help us project into the future the idea that management is a theme that belongs to different sensitivities but not for this reason they are incommunicable” is the opinion put forward by Marco Ciarafoni. Indeed, for the president of the CSAA, the phase of crisis affecting the country requires "to indicate different paths with respect to a past that sees the failure of a development model based on the voracity of consumerism".
"Focusing on the vocation and strength of the territories, in the sign of that extraordinary heritage of culture and history that is typical of our country, means focusing on the environment and fauna in respect of sustainability and in the sign of the quality of the initiatives: of conjunction between protection, passion and playful and economic reasons ". "It is not just a question of re-facing open wounds, to find solutions, such as those of the closure of the Castelluccio di Norcia plateau to the dog world, but to go further and ask the institutions to overcome the impasse due to the instrumentality of the conflict, sometimes used as a shield by the administrators themselves, to raise the bar on the interests of local communities. The Arci Caccia Csaa project goes in this direction ”.
Legambiente does not hold back on the possibility of entering into the merits of the project. “For our part - Morabito argued - no prejudice. This is demonstrated by our approach to hunting issues in recent years and the will to keep the dialogue open with all hunting associations ”. “Dog lovers - continued the Legambiente representative - can be part of the livestock and sports activities that can also be done inside a park. The law allows it under certain and rigorous conditions, starting with the measurability of the event or initiative that is intended to be carried out ".
“An Ispra report on the application of the Habitats Directive also shows us that the disturbance caused to species of Community interest by the various activities carried out by man places sampling among the least of the threats. In the first places the fragmentation of habitats, agricultural and forest management. ".
Morabito illustrated a concrete case of cynology (European hunting championship without killing on woodcocks) which took place in the Aspromonte national park. All the procedures were carried out in close relationship with Ispra and the Ministry of the Environment and with a strong attitude of responsibility held by all the actors in the field. Morabito concluded by launching a warning: "the issue can be addressed but to do it well no shortcut must be taken".
Availability was also given by the new president of the Sibillini Olivieri Park despite the precautions related to the fact that the plains of Castelluccio are now to be considered "heritage of humanity". In compliance with the rules and prerogatives of the Park, however - said the president - we will not back down as we have done or do when we face the issue of the containment of wild boars ”.
For Buconi, on the other hand, there is a need to bring together all the energies of the hunting world and challenge the animalist culture, which denies human activities. “The Federcaccia took longer than others to get to take new paths but in doing this we made use of the elaboration and precious reflection of Arci Caccia and the stimuli of Legambiente” said Buconi. "We can not waste any more time not to risk reaching the goal of the primacy of management when animal welfare positions prevail in society". Finally, Buconi agreed on the approach to the illustrated project.
“The Parks must be active entities, to be experienced”: this is the debut of the speech by Councilor Cecchini. "As far as we are concerned, we do not want to eliminate them, let alone plaster them, also because a living park is a defense of the territory, quality of life and an economic resource". "On the canine project you can work on it and you can look for flexible applications of the standard and use community measures if there is a network that brings together the various stakeholders". Then, addressing the hunting world, the commissioner Cecchini hopes that a new season of relations between the various organizations will start and that an opposition born of the logic of power management within the ATC and between the various activities will be definitively abandoned ". "The Umbrian institutions will continue to do their part, guaranteeing certainty, as happens with the approval of the hunting calendar which has not been subjected to censorship by the administrative courts until now".
“The project is not a provocation but an idea of perspective”: Osvaldo Veneziano is immediately clear, taking the floor for the conclusions. "The hunting world must be aware of the time it is living also because the country has difficulty, due to too much ideological agitation in the field, to put a firm point on hunting issues". “Topics such as those of management become protagonists in the enrichment of the landscape. Faced with the dominant animal rights daughter of urban culture and bad communication, it is necessary to restore meaning to rural culture, useful for a country hit by the bite of the crisis. " In this context - explained Veneziano - we must feel proud of article one of law 157 which affirms the principle of fauna as an unavailable heritage of the state, safeguarding that common good from consumerist drifts as happens in most of the world ”. “Therefore, taking these values as a reference, it is necessary to propose activities that are consequent. The canine project has this prerogative also because we must not forget, as Enci has done until now, that the value and quality of dogs depends on the value and the wildlife and environmental quality of the territories ".
“With the conference we wanted to launch a proposal that aims to relate the various wildlife, environmental and sports institutes and we did so ready to discuss with everyone, even the absent, without any prejudice. Today, from what we have heard, we leave with a positive impression and we want to start working with those who will be there in order to reach positive conclusions as soon as possible ”.
Foligno, March 3, 2014
Arci Caccia - CSAA