Il plan for containment and eradication of nutria goes live: the first (for the three-year period 2019-21) had already been approved in May of last year but so far it had only produced monitoring activities on the territory and training of operators, now the plan has been updated and approved by Province of Lecco for the next three years (2021-23) when containment activities should actually begin. The nutria is considered by the Lombardy Region one of the "100 alien species - in Lombardy - most harmful in the world" and in the Lecco area its presence has been reported since 2007, with first sightings in the Toffo area of the Adda river.
Today they would count at least 930 specimens, according to a downward estimate carried out during the monitoring activity, and now widespread on a large part of the Adda, lakes and other minor waterways, in particular in the municipalities of Abbadia, Airuno, Annone, Bosisio, Brivio, Calco, Calolzio, Colico, Dervio, Garlate, Imbersago, Lecco, Lomagna, Malgrate, Merate, Nibionno, Olginate, Paderno, Pescate, Robbiate and Valmadrera. The Province foresees an expense between 120 thousand and 240 thousand euros for the financing of the plan in the three-year period and will authorize the local and provincial police, voluntary hunting agents, security guards, hydraulic surveillance operators, to be demolished. hunters and landowners if in possession of a firearm license which will be authorized after qualification, issued after having followed the required compulsory training.
Killings with firearms are considered "complementary" in the plan because the nocturnal habits of the nutria, the document reads, would not allow to significantly affect the consistency of the nutria population in this way. Among the weapons contemplated is the smooth-bore shotgun, the small-caliber rifled carbine and compressed air weapons. The preferred method will instead be the capture by means of trap cages with food bait, also positioned three in sequence near the burrows, primarily during the winter period, until March.
The killing must take place with compressed air gun and with a shot fired at close range on the animal's forehead, with a lead shot. The carcasses will then have to be taken to the storage centers for disposal. “We are operating in full and rigorous compliance with the regional plan it has had all approvals from Ispra to intervene on this problem that in our territory is felt by the coastal municipalities on the lake but also on the Adda river - explains the provincial councilor Stefano Simonetti - the topic is delicate, it concerns the killing of animals, for this reason we want to act in the most correct way possible and with all the necessary attention "(Lecco News).