La Constitutional Court has decided to fail the law on hunting disorder approved a year and a half ago by Veneto region. The text, which received the green light in January 2017, was declared illegitimate after an appeal by the Government due to an alleged invasion of state jurisdiction. In short, there was an appeal because of the matter over which the state has exclusive power.
The law caused a lot of discussion as the disturbance of the hunting activity was punished as harassment, therefore from a criminal point of view. The penalties envisaged range from a minimum of 600 to a maximum of 3600 euros. The Council rejected the regional law also because of the terms of the text, considered too general and lacking in determination: the administrative sanctions were also judged disproportionate and superior to others already provided for by the Venetian laws.
For the judges it is necessary to take into consideration the sphere of the people who are offended and the psychological aspect. The fact that hunting is to be guaranteed e protect it from external interference it means that we are talking about public order and security, a matter that is the responsibility of the state and not of local authorities. The prompt responses of the hunting world are now awaited.