A meeting of the Provincial Committee for Order and Public Safety was held on 26 July 2021 chaired by the prefect, Salvatore Pasquariello, in which the heads of the Police Forces took part, in the persons of the Chief of Police Angelo Re, the Deputy Commander of the Carabinieri Riziero Asci and Col. Andrea Turco, the Hon. Silvana Snider, the Regional Councilor Simona Pedrazzi; for the Lombradia Region present the Councilor for Agriculture, Food and Green Systems Fabio Rolfi and the manager of the Wildlife Organizational Unit Franco Claretti; for the Province of Sondrio the Commander of the Provincial Police Emanuele Pasini and the Head of the Hunting and Fishing Service Gianluca Cristini; Marco Marchetti, Director of the Veterinary Department for the Mountain Health Protection Agency; for Arpa Lombardia the Director of the Sondrio-Lecco Department Fiorenzo Songini; for the Mountain Community of Sondrio Claudio Del Dosso, for the Mountain Community Alta Valtellina Umberto Clementi; for the Mountain Community of Chiavenna Luigi Ghelfi and Pietro Melgara; the Commanders of the Local Police of Sondrio Mauro Bradanini, of Morbegno Paolo Tarabini, of Tirano Fabio Della Bona and for the Local Police of Bormio Morena Vitalini; the President of Coldiretti Silvia Marchesini and the Director Gian Michele Sassella; the Regional Vice President of COPAGRI Lombardia Diego Ciocca; the Deputy Director of the Lombardy Regional Breeders Association Gianmario Tramanzoli; Ernesto Ceribelli, the President of the Alpine hunting district of Sondrio; the representatives of the Alpine hunting area of Chiavenna Luigi Gabetti and of Morbegno Enrico Marchesini; Egidio Gugiatti the President of the Valtellinesi Hunters Association and the President of the Free Hunting Association section. by Sondrio Gianmaria Redaelli.
Issues relating to the.
In this regard, two aspects are of particular importance:
- The first refers on the one hand to the risks in terms of traffic safety due to road crossings of animals that can cause accidents, on the other hand to the risks relating to the safety of people who may come into contact with the most dangerous species ( such as wolves and bears).
- The second relates instead to the damage that certain wild species (in particular deer and wild boar) cause to farmers and breeders.
The first is strictly the responsibility of the Prefect, the Police Forces and the Provincial Committee for public order and safety, involving profiles of public order and safety and public safety.
The second was in any case dealt with, as the Prefect decided to offer the participants in the meeting an opportunity for exchange and discussion of opinions, offering to report any problems to the Government, where necessary and to the extent of any competence.
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As regards traffic safety, reference was made above all to deer and wild boar, highlighting that the limitations imposed by the pandemic have pushed these species further downstream and in more man-made places, with the consequence that their sudden presence is often noted. especially at night, on roads characterized by more intense and faster traffic or near built-up areas. As regards the risks to the safety of people, reference was made to possible close contacts with the most dangerous species (such as, for example, the wolf or the bear).
However, it was reiterated - as specified by the Commander of the Forestry Group of the Carabinieri and by the Commander of the Provincial Police Corps in the previous meeting of the Committee on 1 July last - that the presence of the wolf on the territory does not raise particular problems for order and public safety, as they are isolated specimens that hunt animals left in the wild. Therefore, at the moment, there are no particular criticalities such as to cause prejudice to public safety. In any case, it was decided to continue to keep the attention on the presence of the wolf in the area high, through the constant monitoring of its movements in order to avoid any dangerous situations.
Particular attention and respect was then reported by the contact person of the Veterinary Department of the Ats della Montagna di Sondrio on food safety, for which the recent State-Regions agreement on the marketing of wild fauna meats implemented by the Lombardy Region was recalled. . The legitimate activities of marketing of wild meat guarantee absolute safety to the consumer in compliance with Community rules. Even hunters and flayers must be scrupulous in order to ensure compliance with these rules so that the meat does not escape health control. He then emphasized the necessary compliance with the rules relating to animal welfare in relation to the methods of slaughter and eradication as well as the methods of transport, highlighting that animal welfare and zoophile associations are very attentive to these aspects.
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The situation is different for the damage that some species of wildlife, notably deer and wild boar, can cause and in fact cause to farmers and breeders. During the meeting, the concerns of the representative categories were expressed on the issue of wildlife management for the damage caused to crops and livestock. The presence of wild animals in the cultivated areas causes irreversible damage to crops, in addition to the damage related to the lack of harvest. As a possible solution, it has been communicated by some that requests have been made for regulatory changes, in particular with reference to law no. 157 of 1992 on hunting.
In his speech, the Councilor for Agriculture, Food and Green Systems of the Lombardy Region Fabio Rolfi assured the willingness to support the Province in the management of the wild boar containment plan. He then referred to the regional legislation which, at present, authorizes the owner / tenant of the fund to withdraw the garment in case of damage, also adding that a further rule is currently being discussed with the Government and goes to clarify the figure of the “Selecontrollori”, trained hunters who assist the provincial guards in the containment activity.
For her part, the Honorable Silvana Snider reported that from a comparison at the national level, the exponential increase of alien wild species (including bears, wolves, wild boars and otters) emerged, each bearer of problems both for coexistence with the man, and for the consequences on the biological balance of the remaining wildlife. For mountain areas, the wild boar represents the most relevant problem at the moment, but in perspective the unregulated presence of the wolf could become even more critical. He highlighted the need to encourage and build on the part of all the comparison and knowledge between the parties involved (environmentalists, farmers, hunters) to foster a scientific and non-ideological culture of the issue, and then introduce shared and truly applicable measures to wildlife management. He invited us not to underestimate the contribution of small companies that carry out an amateur activity and guard the most inaccessible areas of the territory, highlighting, among other things, the important problems of a hydrogeological nature; he communicated that at the government level they are studying how to combine the presence of wildlife with the aspect of human permanence in the mountains. Finally, he reiterated his commitment to studying the modalities of action of neighboring states, underlining his appreciation in particular for Slovenia where the environment, agriculture and the world of fauna are going hand in hand, mutually supporting each other also from an economic point of view. .
The Province responsible for the control and implementation of the wildlife containment plan - it was highlighted by the Commander of the Provincial Police Corps Pasini and by the Director of the Province, Cristini - intervenes in the management of wildlife both to protect safety publishes both with the aim of limiting damage to the whole agricultural world as much as possible. The economic damage assessed by the wild boar for last year was around 30-40 thousand euros, while the highest is that caused by the deer which is around 150 thousand euros. The operating procedures can certainly be improved, but compared to other provinces the presence of wild boars is very limited and the containment plan approved by ISPRA gives good results. Regarding the presence of the deer, for which the possibility of allowing hunting has been advanced, they reiterated that the hunting activity can do little given the presence of the species increasingly close to inhabited centers. In any case, the Province has shown ample willingness to relate with the Lombardy Region on claims for damages and to implement all possible measures.
Also the regional councilor Simona Pedrazzi has expressed concern about the risks deriving from the presence of wild fauna for the circulation and for the safety of the person. The persistent damage to agriculture can lead to the abandonment of a fundamental sector for this territory and to the depopulation of the mountains. Prevention also requires timely monitoring for the wolf, which while not attacking humans, attacks the livestock which is the primary source of income for the sector. Finally, he concluded about the need to adapt hunting wildlife planning with greater and faster specific intervention methods to an emergency situation.
All those present, representing the various associations of farmers, breeders and hunters, with their interventions were able to make their competent contribution to the discussion, presenting their arguments and making their proposals available.