In the last hours the VIA Committee rejected the regional hunting calendar of Abruzzo. The opinion prohibits hunting for pochard and lapwing. In addition, hunting grounds for 6 species have been limited (gadwall, pintail, whisk, shoveler, redwing and wild dove) which cannot be hunted in SCIs and SPAs, and other restrictive provisions have also been introduced to protect the Marsican brown bear.
The Region had presented a calendar with conflicting indications, subordinated to a future pronouncement of the Regional Administrative Court. Both ISPRA and the regional VIA Committee did well to express themselves only on the certain parts, thus confirming the closure of the hunt for skylark and rock partridge and allowing hunting only to residents of the contiguous area of the National Park of Abruzzo. In practice, the objections presented by the WWF were accepted both through an appeal to the Regional Administrative Court and through the observations on the calendar made during the Environmental Impact Assessment.
The satisfaction of the environmentalist association was inevitable, which recalled how Abruzzo hunting is collecting only complaints this season, in addition to confusing situation which reigns supreme in the regional management of the business. Now we will have to wait for the countermeasures of the local authority, in order to provide regional hunters with greater certainty as regards the withdrawals.