" massacre of waterfowl caused by Botox in the Canna Valley is a striking example of what we have been saying for years, unheard: for too many, managing nature and the environment means only removing areas from traditional users, hunters, fishermen, marsh grass pickers or other. Precisely those who for centuries have instead guaranteed their health and prosperity, keeping them in balance, intervening when and where necessary and above all knowing well how to do it ". Thus the national president of Federcaccia Massimo Buconi commented on what happened in the province of Ravenna, where the failure to carry out hydraulic interventions in the protected area of Canna Valley (Mandriole Valley) caused a real dying of aquatic birds, despite the fact that the reports, even from hunters, that the situation in the area was critical was not lacking in time.
A few years ago the offer, rejected by the Municipality of Ravenna, to take over as ATC-Federcaccia the management of the valley. Who knows if the reflection today would have another outcome. Instead, the hunters, from the very first moment, rushed to remove the carcasses of dead waterfowl and bring those still alive affected by the bird to the Bird Recovery Center. Botox. Alone or alerted by their hunting associations, they supported the local police officers in charge of the surveillance of the natural areas and the managers of the Municipality's Environment service. Away from the news cameras, which of course they took care not to explain who those men were generically defined as "volunteers", they worked tirelessly to try to bring help to a nature once again wounded certainly not by their passion.
“My thanks go to all of them. As president of Federcaccia, as a citizen and as a hunter. Once again, without expecting anything in return, they have shown what the passion that moves us is made of. Now, one would say 'in addition to the damage, the insult', we are thinking of temporarily closing the hunting activity for a perimeter of 3 kilometers from the valley in order not to push other animals into the infected area, this is the reason given. Needless to say, for several reasons, from a biological and scientific point of view it is nonsense that we are already opposing with our technical departments. When will you stop thinking about solving by closing the chase? This very bad episode serves rather to reopen a reflection on the management of many protected areas. There are many in our country those put under a bell, believing with two signs prohibiting hunting that they have protected the environment. The results are inside those black sacks full of dead birds ”.