An important comparison
An operational and pragmatic comparison to deal with the wild boar emergency, eradicate African swine fever and secure Made in Italy animal husbandry, starting from the regions most affected by the disease. This is the purpose of the meeting between the delegation of CIA-Italian Farmers of Piedmont and Liguria and the special commissioner for PSA Vincent Caputo, which was held today in the headquarters of the Province of Alessandria. During the meeting, the commissioner declared the government's commitment to eradicate swine fever through the killing of wild boars from the infected area within 36 months, with the activity of bioregulators (hunters) who will intervene in the operations. Caputo also asked for the collaboration of farms in terms of carcass management, to overcome the problem, including economic, of disposal. Lastly, the new commissioner has asked for the establishment of a regular discussion table with the trade organizations in the area.
The solutions to adopt
“A positive meeting but let's wait for the facts. Too many times we have had promises that have not been kept – comments Stefano Roggerone, president of Cia Liguria -. There is a need for urgent containment measures and the use of trapping cages are certainly the ideal solution. On this aspect, the Commissioner has given his willingness to address the issue with the Councilor for Agriculture, Alessandro Piana, also for areas outside the red zone. We also asked for scheduled meetings to keep the situation under control, evaluating the effects of the solutions adopted. Interventions that must also take into account the diversity of the territories. An example? In Liguria it is often necessary to act close to inhabited centres, this means implementing even very different strategies. On this aspect and on all the others, we have confirmed our maximum availability to the Commissioner".
How to beat ASF
“It was a very positive and extremely practical meeting - explained Gabriele Carenini, CIA national manager for wildlife and president of CIA Piedmont, head of the delegation-. Commissioner Caputo asked agricultural organizations for a hand and we immediately made ourselves available, confirming our full collaboration in support of the commissioner's actions. The goal now is to limit the number of wild animals as much as possible and to defeat ASF, which puts all Italian animal husbandry at serious risk, especially in the two most affected regions, Piedmont and Liguria, which have been outbreaks for more than a year. We can't wait any longer, we need to protect and support farmers and ensure that they can resume agricultural activity as soon as possible, even in restricted areas ". “The collaboration between the commissioner structure and the Confederation in this field is fundamental - added the national president Cristiano Fini-. Cia has been fighting for years for a substantial reform of law 157/92 that effectively addresses the wildlife issue and calls for specific interventions against the proliferation of wild boars, the main vector of transmission of swine fever. On the other hand, the numbers speak for themselves: over 2 million ungulates in circulation, more than 200 million damage to agriculture and 469 accidents, even fatal, in four years” (source: CIA).