For a few days he has been touring the municipalities that are part of the Pineta Park of Appiano Gentile and Tradate, a collection of signatures promoted by some residents of Pianbosco, where among the various requests and proposals there is also that of sterilizing ungulates, present in large numbers in the park, especially wild boars, to contain their number. On 1 June the new culling campaign will also start in the province of Varese, but for the petitioners, sterilization would be preferable to hunting.
We ask for the control of ungulates by activating a sterilization system and not by wild killing with a firearm, which constitutes a direct danger due to the proximity of the built-up area and indirect for the escape of animals on the streets due to accidents and road hazards "is the request in point 4 of the petition. We asked the president of the Parco Pineta Mario Clerici if it is possible to contain the number of wild boars through sterilization campaigns. «The sterilization of ungulates is a theory that collides with reality in many respects. Economic and also technical - Clerici replies - There are two ways: “chemical” sterilization, the pill to be clear, or the surgical one.
As for the first way, the ability that these mass sterilization campaigns have to target only ungulates does not exist. Not only is there the fact that with this method all forest animals can come into contact with these sterilizing substances with considerable damage to the fauna and the ecosystem, but these substances lose their effectiveness after a few months and must be re-administered. Surgical sterilization is just as complex: it means capturing the animals, which are hidden in the woods, one by one, and operating them. All this on thousands of animals In addition to the costs, it is technically complicated, indeed impossible ».
Is killing the only way to contain the excessive presence of these animals?
«When man takes charge of nature and the environment, he must also assume the responsibility of however painful choices. Personally I don't like it, also because I have a great respect for these animals. However, when it comes to guarding and taking charge it means choosing. In this case, choose to eliminate some animals to restore the necessary balance ».
But these animals are in their home. Is it okay to kill them?
“This is a big misunderstanding. Unfortunately these animals are not in their home, they are almost certainly man-made animals and are invading the homes of other animals. They are destroying stable meadows, they are destroying the sources of supply for small animals such as squirrels that until yesterday found a home in the woods. So to guard means to take charge of maintaining or rediscovering a balance. As long as there are some specimens that roam and are under control, the forest can support them, but when, as in the case of ungulates, wild boars but also deer, this equilibrium jumps due to lack of attention on the part of man, the only solution is to try to reestablish it by checking. The right word is control, not selection, because we do not select but we try to contain these invasive species ».