Selective sampling
With a letter dated May 27, the Regional President of Federcaccia Piedmont Guido Dellarovere has contacted the relevant authorities—specifically, the Piedmont Region Department of Agriculture, Food, Hunting, and Fishing, Councilor Dr. Paolo Bongioanni, and the Agriculture and Food Directorate, Wildlife Conservation and Management Sector, Director Dr. Paolo Balocco—formalizing an urgent request for review and partial self-cancellation of Regional Government Decision No. 5-2599 of May 25, 2026, regarding the selective culling plan for roe deer in PSA restricted areas.
The letter
The text below: "The undersigned Italian Hunting Federation (FIdC) – Piedmont Region, in the name and on behalf of its territorial bodies and associated hunters, has formally reviewed the Regional Council Resolution of May 25, 2026, no. 5-2599, regarding the initiation of selective hunting for the roe deer species. With regard to the aforementioned provision, this Federation is forced to note a clear contradiction within the administrative act, which causes serious and unjustified prejudice to many Territorial Hunting Areas (ATC), Agritourism-Hunting Companies (AATV), and Wildlife-Hunting Companies (AFV) in Lower Piedmont. Specifically, the table attached to the Resolution, in the column preceding the final one, states verbatim that: "the total number of animals to be culled is within the margins set by the OGUR with a correct distribution among the various sex and age classes, also taking into account the limited scope of the plan requested. In light of this, no reasons can be identified that would prevent the approval of the plan.” Nonetheless, in the final column of the same table, for the territories falling within the restricted zones for African Swine Fever (ASF), the wording “NOT IMPLEMENTABLE” is reported.
The motivations
This preventive and precautionary denial appears to lack adequate legal and technical foundation, for the following reasons:
Lack of power of the Commissioner's Structure: the Resolution itself states that the Extraordinary Commissioner for the PSA ceased his mandate on March 27, 2026, and that Ordinance No. 7/2025 expired on May 12, 2026. It is therefore inappropriate to suspend the effectiveness of a regional collection plan pending a response to a note (No. 10657 of May 18, 2026) addressed to a body currently vacant and lacking decision-making powers.
Nature of the target species: the selective culling in question concerns roe deer, a species known not to be a target and not a vector for the spread of the ASF virus.
Unequal treatment and unlawful aspects: Biosecurity measures and restrictions in PSA restricted areas affect a variety of human activities (hiking, cycling, forestry, harvesting of forest products, access to agricultural land). Providing an exclusive ban on selective hunting, while leaving the remaining activities free, constitutes a clear unequal treatment to the detriment of a single category. This conduct exposes the Administration to potential complaints for abuse of power and failure to comply with the failure to ban other equivalent activities.
Economic damage and ecological imbalance: the ban on selective hunting creates a serious management imbalance in roe deer populations within the territories of the affected ATCs, as well as causing immediate and significant economic damage both to the ATCs themselves and to the companies (AFV and AATV) that have already planned and invested in the season.
Administrative precedent and interregional disparity: it should be noted that the neighboring Liguria Region, despite sharing the same issues and the same health constraints related to the PSA restriction zones, has authorized the start of selective roe deer hunting, which will begin regularly on June 3. There are no technical or legal reasons to justify such a restrictive and penalizing application of the protocols by the Piedmont Region alone compared to neighboring and mirroring territories.
In light of the spirit of loyal cooperation that has always characterized relations between FIdC and regional institutions, it is deemed essential to overcome the precautionary nature of a ban not supported by current legislation.
The appeal to the Region
Given all of the above, the undersigned Federation REQUESTS this honorable Department and the relevant Directorate to urgently reconsider the draft attached to Regional Government Resolution No. 5-2599 of May 25, 2026, revoking the wording "NOT FULFILABLE" and authorizing, effective immediately, the selective culling of roe deer in all facilities in Lower Piedmont, in accordance with the technical plans already validated and deemed free of impediments. Certain of your attention and sensitivity to this matter, and confident in a timely response and corrective action to protect the territory and the hunting and economic sector, we send our sincere regards. (FIdC Piemonte President Guido Dellarovere)
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