Put a size of 3 thousand euros on wolves who, having annihilated his flock of sheep, are now attacking the calves as well. But it ended badly. The farmer was reported. It happens in sienna, a territory with a strong settlement of immigrant shepherds decades ago and home of the pecorino di Pienza celebrated all over the world. Now Mario Mori, 75-year-old farmer, one of the most important agricultural entrepreneurs in the area, risks losing his life's job. in the last ten years he was first forced to close the family sheep farm, after not even one was left due to the constant assaults of wolves in the area - Palazzone, a hamlet of San Casciano Bagni in the province of Siena - and now it risks losing the second, too, of cattle.
After launching a provocation in the media, on Monday 24 January he was called to appear before the marshal of the Forest Rangers di Chiusi, following a complaint for instigation to commit a crime. Mori is no stranger to such initiatives. A similar size, but at the time of one thousand euros, also launched in 2013. "At the end of October - says Mori - I told the press that I would have given a reward of three thousand euros whoever caught a wolf for me. It was just a provocation, instead I ended up with a criminal complaint. My goal was to bring the issue back to the attention of public opinion and institutions, because it is not possible to have a loss of money every year. 15 or 20 percent of new born because eaten by a wolf. It is total nonsense ”.
"In 2013 we closed the first farm - he continues - because the wolves had also eliminated the last 70 sheep left, and we only went on with that of Chianina. In 2015, however, we noticed the first killing of one of our cows. Here, from that day to today we have officially lost 24 calves and three cows, in addition to all those who have disappeared. In 2021 alone, for example, 12 calves were never found ”. So he announced a "bounty" on the animals of the area, through an appeal launched to local media. “In the past - explains Mori - we were listened to. There was dialogue with the Region and I myself was invited to some meetings with officials and experts in the sector, while what I perceive now is absolute indifference.
The wolf is protected by the 'Habitat' directive to which, however, several European countries have granted exemptions to accommodate breeders. I tried to bring attention to this problem, albeit with a provocation, and I responded personally. The truth is that it is no longer possible to sustain such significant economic damage ". "Two measures that we suggest - he concludes - are first of all to make the population of these animals compatible, as elsewhere, with the economic activities present, proceeding with targeted and controlled killing.
Then, in the event of damage, compensation would be needed, and not compensation, congruent and as quickly as possible ". “To Mario Mori I would like to express my total solidarity - is the intervention of Ritano Baragli, vice president of Fedagripesca - Confcooperative Toscana -. We need greater protection towards breeders and other professionals in the sector. Summary violence certainly cannot represent an effective countermeasure to the problem, nor was that Mario's intent. But the fact remains that it is necessary to find a solution to a condition that causes enormous damage, moreover in a historical moment in which things are made very difficult by the Covid. And now, in addition to the losses suffered in recent years, he will also have to pay a lawyer ”.