How long will the actions continue?
Two years after the agreement signed with LAV and WWF the LIFE LETSGO Giglio project for the part that concerns the eradication of the mouflon it is to be considered concluded, even if all the other actions will continue until the definitive deadline of the LIFE project, 31.12.2024. In fact, there should no longer be any mouflon specimens on the island, even if the protocol provides that, to have absolute certainty and to certify it, the monitoring will have to continue with periodic inspections throughout 2024, more or less the same procedure which was used to certify the eradication of the rat from the island of Montecristo. Consistent with the agreement signed on 30.11.2021 with LAV and WWF, from that date the National Park immediately suspended culling and intensified capture operations. Since then, 52 mouflons have been captured, transferred and subsequently sterilized. It should be underlined that the capture operations were made more difficult and less effective by numerous disturbance actions. The operators were followed and filmed while they worked and there were numerous actions of sabotage, damage and even theft of the equipment used for captures, all regularly reported.
The collaboration of the Carabinieri
There was a frantic desire to photograph and film the captured animals, even when they were inside transport crates loaded onto transfer vehicles, creating unnecessary stress for the animals. For this reason the Park was forced to ask for the collaboration of the Carabinieri who provided military vehicles and also "escorted" part of the transfer. There is no doubt that, without all these disturbing actions, the mouflons captured and transferred could have been much more numerous. The Park has also given the availability, as foreseen by the agreement, to have telenarcosis captured on average by operators indicated by the WORK. The two subjects in charge, after the appropriate checks, did not even attempt, probably aware of the great difficulty of using this technique in the context of the Giglio Island. After more than a year of suspension and only captures, the killings also resumed and were 35 mouflons killed. Therefore, the park closes the project, unless adjustments are made following monitoring, with 35 mouflons killed (40%) and 52 captured and transferred (60%), after the agreement made with LAV and WWF.
The reduction of specimens
The President of the Park Giampiero Sammuri declared: “I think that in the end we all came out well, we who achieved the important objective of eradicating the Mouflon and the associations that pushed and obtained the significant reduction of the mouflons killed. Therefore, having reached the end of this important part of the LIFE project, I wanted to thank the associations Irriducibili Liberazione Animale, LAV and WWF for their willingness to dialogue, but I believe that above all those who have sincere animal rights should thank them. It is thanks to their positive contribution that 52 mouflons were not killed, but captured and transferred, most of them to facilities managed by them. They are a small thing compared to the 400 that can be killed every year hunting in Tuscany, but I still believe that, for those with certain sensitivities, it is a significant result. I also wanted to thank the operators of the Agrofauna and Dream companies, who managed the operations with seriousness and professionalism, even when they were subjected to systematic disturbance actions. The Director and the Park conservation office who have always coordinated the operations in the best possible way. The institutions that have always been at our side, helping us to manage complicated situations: from the Prefecture of Grosseto, to the Minister of the Environment, Pichetto Fratin, the highest state office on the subject, who with the clear answer to a question on 9-3- 2023 has dispelled any doubts about the importance of mouflon eradication on Giglio Island for the protection of biodiversity. The Tuscany Region, which from the beginning signed a protocol with the Park, shared the objectives of the project and consistently carried out the part within its competence. The Municipality of Giglio Island, which, by signing the project, has formally adhered to its aims, always making its sharing felt.
The opinions of ISPRA
But I also feel the duty to thank the scientific world, to which I am particularly attached for their support of our project. Starting from ISPRA for technical opinions, to Jon Paul Rodriguez Chair of the Species Survival Commission and Juan Herrero chair of the "Caprinae specialist group" of the IUCN, the best Italian ungulate specialists starting from Prof. Sandro Lovari and Professors Marco Apollonio and Pier Giuseppe Meneguz, mouflon specialists and authors of the text relating to the species in the fauna of Italy, professors Luigi Boitani, Francesco Dessì Fulgheri, Folco Giusti and Silvano Toso, who certainly need no introduction, Prof. Alessandro Chiarucci president of the Italian Botanical Society, the Italian Ecology Society which unanimously approved a document supporting the mouflon eradication action on the island of Giglio, on the occasion of its congress held in Siena in September 2022 which was attended by more than 200 specialists.
Ordinances and prohibitions
Finally, a big thank you to the police forces: the Provincial Police and the Carabinieri, both in the territorial component and in the forestry component with the park and biodiversity departments. They tell me that someone on social media has negatively judged the presence of law enforcement personnel on the island. I honestly don't understand why, for every honest citizen the presence of those responsible for enforcing the laws should not be a cause for concern. Personally, wherever I am, if I see the presence of law enforcement personnel, I feel calmer and safer. Given the conclusion of the operations, I will revoke the order banning access to the Park and I am happy about it. I was very sorry to have to close off areas of the park to peaceful hikers who want to enjoy the extraordinary beauty of the Giglio island, but unfortunately the constant disturbances, damage and theft have made this inevitable." (Tuscan Archipelago Park).