With sentence no. 451 of May 29, 2021, Section I of TAR Marches decided on the appeal presented byVictims of the Hunt Association on Regional hunting calendar 2020-2021, concerning the hunt for pochards and lapwings. Federcaccia Nazionale and Federcaccia Marche through the Faunistic and Agro-environmental Studies and Research Office, assisted as always by the lawyer Alberto M. Bruni, supported the Marche region in the proceeding, refuting the applicants' theses with legal and technical-scientific arguments that have largely found acceptance in the Administrative Judges.
The following some important points of the sentence, which we hope will be able to guide other Regions in the preparation of hunting calendars for the next season: The difference between pochard and lapwing, both as regards the different AEWA classification, and for the fact that an International Multispecies Action Plan is in force for the latter with 2018-year validity 2028-XNUMX, approved by AEWA and the European Commission. The species can therefore be huntable, considering that the Marche Region has established strict collection limits and has carefully justified the maintenance of the species with updated data and studies. among those huntable. It has been clarified that the "precautionary principle", now obsessively and improperly invoked in every appeal by the Environmentalist Associations, must be declined from time to time in the contents of the individual Region and the Judge must rule on the adequacy of the motivation which supports the choices made in the calendar.
Importantly, the TAR has decided not to consider the simple repetitions of the opinion sufficient ISPRA by the applicants, establishing that in the appeals the arguments of the Region should be challenged with other and stronger scientific data, if any. As for the pochard, the Regional Administrative Court did not consider the reasons given by the Marche Region in the resolution sufficient, there being no regional data to support it and the species being in a more unfavorable state compared to the lapwing and there is no action plan. For Hunting Federation - in this, as in other cases, the only hunting association to establish itself and consequently to defend hunters on these species - this is an important victory and an injection of confidence for the conservation of their hunting passions sustainable to all species .