In recent weeks the Province had announced that it had approved the culling plan for a large number of deer living within the Stelvio National Park. These ungulates in fact, between 1.000 and 2.000 specimens, would be too much to determine a “loss of biodiversity linked to the high population density”. Thus, with the aim of "mitigating and reducing ecological imbalances", in the first two years, an amount including between 100 and 180 specimens per year, which will be carried out in collaboration with the Trentino Hunters Association and under the coordination and control of the Park Authority and the Trentino Forestry Corps.
To clarify the matter, the councilor of Europa Verde, Lucia Coppola, deposited a question underlining how the decision to have the deer killed by hunters could have created a conflict of interest. The Councilor for the Environment, Mario Tonina, is quite different, explaining: "Unlike what the case in point of the hunting activity provides, the culled animals remain, as required by law, unavailable property of the State and the Park will arrange for their sale". Not only that, because in this context the Park plans to train and qualify a sufficient number of people, "obviously equipped with a gun license", specifies Tonina, who, after examination, will be authorized as Adjuvants the numerical control activities of the deer to carry out the killing.
"In this general framework - continues Councilor Tonina - the Adjuvants will provide their help for the realization of the project without any conflict of interest with the hunters who act and plan only what concerns hunting management outside the Park ". At the moment the abatement plan has not yet entered into force because the technical planning aspects that they must subsequently be submitted for the opinion of Ispra and the authorization of the Ministry for Ecological Transition.
As soon as this first phase of planning is completed, the Province intends to start what has been defined as "a mediated process of confrontation with the population, with environmental associations and with the main stakeholders ", to illustrate and discuss the problems and contents of the plan with respect to possible solutions to moderate the ecological imbalances currently present at the Stelvio (The Dolomites).