Time ago Hunting Federation is involving parliamentarians and administrators of the various Regions so that it is possible to combine the exercise of a traditional form of hunting with due attention and sustainability to the dynamics of the species. These days the senator of the League Francesco Bruzzone spoke on the issue of maintaining the collection of wild turtledove with a question addressed to the Minister of ecological transition asking to know the overall picture presented by Italy to the European Commission in relation to the turtle dove hunting next season; if the Minister does not deem it necessary to involve the Regions and the various stakeholders in order to find the most correct solution to the problem; why Italy has not yet followed up onapproval of the national management plan for turtledove - thus renouncing environmental improvements favorable to the species - and if, finally, it does not believe that this position can be traced back to "anti-venatorial political choices".
On the attitude of the Government, in fact, Sen. Bruzzone underlined very clearly how "it would seem that the Ministry is taking an attempt to purposely present an erroneously negative picture to the European Commission, in order to reject the possibility of hunting the species for our country, contrary to what other EU states are doing ". "We thank Senator Bruzzone for his attention and the commitment he always puts into the country's hunting and environmental issues - commented the National President of Federcaccia Massimo Buconi - and we are confident that we will be able to find similar attention in the other parliamentarians who have given us willingness to talk. We now wait to know the position of the MILD on a question that should be approached in a technical-scientific way and which once again seems to follow mainly ideological logics ”. This is the complete text of the Inspection Union Act No. 3-02632.
Given that:
la wild dove, Streptopelia turtur, is a huntable species in Italy pursuant to law n. 157 of 1992 and directive 147/2009 / EC, called "Birds";
the European Commission approved an international action plan for this species in 2018, in the session of the NADEG committee, in which the Italian State, in the persons of the representatives of the Ministry of the Environment and Land and Sea Protection, expressed the its agreement, with the premise, also shared by other European states, not to accept the part of the plan containing the proposed moratorium on hunting put forward by the Commission;
subsequently, the Commission prepared the adaptive management plan for the collection of turtle doves in the EU, through a professional contract with a scientific working group; in May 2021 the technical meetings with institutions and stakeholders were concluded, and it was established that for the area that affects Italy (with the exception of Liguria and Piedmont) hunting can continue in the year 2021, if the levy is reduced by 50 per cent compared to the data of previous years;
to this end the Commission has sent a questionnaire to the Member States, in which they have to describe them the conditions for ensuring the reduction of the levy and actions to ensure compliance. From the meetings, which were also attended by the technicians of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, it would seem that a negative picture of the Italian Regions emerged, questioning their ability to implement what the Commission requested and adding arguments outside the subject dealt with;
the Regions, as well as the interest groups, were not directly involved in planning the strategy to implement the reduction in the levy, but a questionnaire was simply sent to them, asking to fill in some fields, without allowing any comparison to fulfill the requirements of the Commission and therefore keep hunting the species with the reduced game bag;
it would seem that the Ministry is making an attempt to purposely present an erroneously negative picture to the European Commission, in order to reject the possibility of hunting the species for our country, contrary to what other EU states are doing, in which the species is huntable, who have defended and are defending the turtle dove hunting in their territory (Greece, Bulgaria, Austria, Malta, Cyprus, Romania);
Italy is the only country in the European Union in which there is a limit of seasonal game bag, and in which hunting at the beginning of September is allowed for a variable number between one and 3 days; it is therefore sufficient to act on these parameters to fulfill the Commission's request, that is reduce the number of foldable items from 20 to 10 per hunter per year, and reduce hunting in early September to 2-3 half days,
you ask to know:
- what is the overall picture presented to the European Commission in relation to turtle dove hunting in the 2021-2022 season;
- if the Minister in address does not deem it necessary involve the Regions and stakeholders as soon as possible to find the most correct solution to fulfill the request for a reduction in the levy by the European Commission;
- what are the reasons why Italy has not yet followed up on the approval of the national management plan for turtledove, thus renouncing the instrument for favorable environmental improvements to the species, and if it does not believe that this position can be traced back to anti-venatorial political choices (Source: Hunting Federation).