The news is official: the Sicily region has decided to extend the woodcock hunt on the island for a good month, to be precise from 31 December 2019 (the previous deadline from a temporal point of view) to 30 January 2020. Other days are therefore available and the choice of 30 is motivated by the fact that 31 falls on a Friday, therefore, on a day of hunting silence. In the last few hours there has been the signing of the decree by Edy Flag, regional councilor for Agriculture, Rural Development and Mediterranean Fishing.
This is a consequence of a recent ruling by the Regional Administrative Court (TAR) of Sicily. In fact, in November the judges expressed their opinion on the hunting calendar of the last hunting season (2018-2019 to be precise), explaining how it was not unreasonable to postpone the closure of the woodcock harvest until January 31st.
They have been taken into consideration two scientific studies very interesting who have deepened the use of satellite technology (telemetry) and the fact that the pre-nuptial migration of the species does not begin until the end of February.