The reader's question
Vittorio Feltri talks about hunting in Il Giornale in response to a letter sent to the newspaper and which has to do with hunting. This is the reader's message: “Although you are perceived as an even cynical person, you often show a particular sensitivity towards the weakest or most marginalized people in society: the homeless, the sick, prisoners, but also animals. I am a convinced animal rights activist, as well as a right-wing man, I define myself as a conservative. However, I can't stand the support that the center-right gives to hunting and hunters. I read about a bill, presented by a Northern League deputy, Francesco Bruzzone, aimed at liberalizing hunting, which could be practiced seven days a week and all year round. Why, instead of protecting our wildlife, do we put it in danger? Matteo Salvini on his social pages often reports in indignant and strongly condemning tones news stories that see defenseless animals being victims of men and women of any age, some even very young. How can this animal rights spirit expressed by the League be reconciled with the promotion of hunting by the Northern League members themselves?".
The replica
This is Feltri's response: “In fact, the right is animal rights and the first party to be so was the one founded by Silvio Berlusconi, Forza Italia, which, thanks also to the commitment of my dear friend Michela Vittoria Brambilla, who is dedicating her existence to this cause, has brought within the thematic institutions concerning the protection of the rights of beasts and has spread the awareness that they are sentient beings, just like us, that is, they experience emotions, sensations and feelings, from joy to fear, from pain to pleasure. I don't remember anything tangible that the left has done in favor of the four-legged. The Reds fight with ardor only against fascism that doesn't exist. Returning to the Knight, I recognize that the few truly great men I have encountered in the course of my existence all share, in fact, an extraordinary sensitivity towards animals. And Silvio was no different".
An anachronistic activity
"It is obvious that within the parties there can be very heterogeneous components and that some of these can defend hunting, which, in my opinion, is an anachronistic and totally useless activity, since today people, in order to feed themselves , they don't need to arm themselves and go into the woods in search of game to eat after roasting it on the fire in front of the cave, the hut or the stilt house. Evidently human beings retain this instinct, perhaps it is a sort of ancestral legacy that emerges forcefully in some. I would not know. What I know for sure is that hunters constitute a fairly large category of citizens and, like any category, they have the right to be represented".
An activity to be banned
"Some politicians, cunningly, offer to do this, even if they don't share this passion, in order to gain votes. In Fratelli d'Italia, for example, we have representatives of the interests and demands of hunters, but we also have convinced animal rights activists like me, those who are unable to conceive of hunting as a recreational, entertainment activity, to be done for pleasure, in how much fun can't be had if its price is the blood of another living being. Another unbridled animal rights activist in Fdi is the president of the Senate Ignazio La Russa, who has confessed to becoming morbidly fond of even turtles. Very attached to his German shepherd, La Russa would like to open the offices of the two rooms to quadrupeds, which I myself did in Libero, allowing the editors to bring their dogs into the office. As for Matteo Salvini, he is sincere when he protests against certain crimes against dogs and cats and beyond. So his posts are perfectly in tune with his spirit and values. I don't see anything utilitarian or fake about it. Regarding the bill you write about, I can only hope that it never becomes law. If it were up to me, hunting would be outlawed. And according to polls, 76% of Italians are of the same opinion, regardless of political colour".