La boar issue has long since been out of control, no news! Arch Hunting has been saying this for years but the ongoing pandemic has aggravated the problem even more, usual folkloric strategies times, rather than solving the real issues, avoiding concrete confrontations and shared solutions. Arci Caccia agrees that for some time we have been facing a problem that is putting a strain on the agricultural world, and it is precisely for this reason that instead of making useless slogans, has repeatedly called on all stakeholders to take responsibility for their choices. The faults and failures cannot all fall on the hunting world which has too often been pointed out, perhaps for convenience or perhaps to hide the failures of the desired choices, as the only culprit of the wild boar problem. The commitment of hunters to support farmers this year has suffered major limitations due to the inability to move, and has exposed the limit of the tools and methods used, highlighting an increase in damage to agriculture almost double last year and a steady increase in wildlife accidents; a clear sign that the solutions implemented up to now are not sufficient and not even suitable to counter this phenomenon.
The variables The wild boar problem does not only concern Umbria but now Europe and the whole peninsula and, if we want to identify possible solutions, we must analyze the problem in all its various facets, taking into account the many variables that can intervene. We recall that in the last 50 years there has been an abandonment of agricultural land for over 10 million hectares, in favor of an increase of about 4 million hectares of woods, extremely favorable factors that have profoundly contributed to an expansion of all ungulates. (wild boar, roe deer, fallow deer and red deer), to the detriment of all other species of fauna, the creation of protected or conservation areas that limit any type of intervention, the total neglect in which they concern, the methods of intervention dictated by laws and regulations or opinions that limit the actions that can be put in place, the bureaucratic delays, the lack of natural competitors competing for the same habitat, the great adaptive capacity of the species, the hybridization of the same result of mistakes made in the past , the abandonment of the hilly areas, the climatic changes that affect the reproduction of the species, as demonstrated by scientific studies; are these also the faults of the hunters?
Solutions These are problems that must be kept in mind when evaluating possible solutions and incisive interventions, otherwise you continue to bark at the moon. The problem cannot be relegated only to the management of the districts, to the number of animals killed during the hunting period which lasts only three months and with a time lag with the times of agriculture or with regulations not in step with the times. In Umbria there are border realities, where considerable damage is recorded, where the wild boar cannot be just an Umbrian problem: the protected border areas of the neighboring regions are immense reservoirs of wild boars that cause damage in Umbria and take refuge beyond the border , but the damage weighs on the balance sheets of the Umbrian Atc. These are issues that cannot be addressed by looking only within the regional administrative boundary. We would expect to hear about these and other topics in the various hearings: these issues must be addressed and evaluated and the solutions cannot be only the political-doctrinal spots. On the occasions that we have been listened to by the institutions, we have repeatedly reiterated that the solution cannot only be the possibility of indiscriminately killing the wild boar, unless (as already mentioned) this is not the way to hide the shortcomings. of others, but environmental interventions are also needed to limit the refuge areas in the areas of greatest presence, return to cultivate with crops to lose the hilly areas to remove the fauna of intensive crops.
Regole Joint actions are needed on several fronts: containment interventions, even when carried out with the utmost responsibility, are not sufficient because they are limited in time and space and, in the majority of cases, they are not decisive and are only a palliative; this is because the damage is always done. Arci Caccia in recent years has been very critical about the decisions taken by the Region on the management of the wild boar problem and on the hunting methods launched by the region, always finding itself in the minority and isolated even within the hunting world. We have offered the utmost collaboration to the institution and the agricultural world, both in suggesting more effective rules to protect the agricultural world, with documents available to all, demonstrating a sense of responsibility and respect towards farmers who we would not want to be exploited, as only in an effective collaboration of all stakeholders can certainly identify valid solutions to the problem. We know perfectly well that part of the hunting world has not always responded with a sense of responsibility to the problem, but this is not the case with Arci Caccia: for years we have been asking the Umbria Region for a regulation to manage the species and one to practice hunting. to wild boar, with a view to responding to the needs that have matured within the hunting and agricultural world.
The silences At this particular moment we are concerned about the deafening silence of the agricultural associations which, until a few months ago, were fierce with the hunters and with the Region asking for interventions and funds to deal with the boar problem. For those with a short memory, we remind you that a few years ago we worked for months alongside Coldiretti and Cia, with the fundamental contribution of the late professor. Bernardino Ragni, for the drafting of a plan for the management of faunal conflicts, which the agricultural associations themselves, and above all Coldiretti, at the end of the work carried out, refused to sign and send to the Region for the dictat of their managers, also putting in deep embarrassment their representatives who attended the table; this is why when appealing to a sense of responsibility it is good to remember who we have been and who we are. For years we have supported the need to create a controlled supply chain for the enhancement of wild boar meat, where the animals killed by the containment interventions authorized by the Region are conferred and that the proceeds are destined as required by regional regulation 5 of 2010, but it is a duty that the supply chain complies with stringent requirements, otherwise the risk is that in order to maintain it, Umbria will become a large open-air farming.
Dialogue The utterances that emerged in the hearing about the univocal support for hunting associations leave a bad taste in our mouth and make us foresee even the thought of an exclusion of the hunting world from the discussion, which would be an intellectual and social defeat, and we would never want to to think that something else is hidden behind it… all, among other things, in stark contrast with the statements of the councilor Morroni, who has repeatedly declared that he wants a constant confrontation with the hunting world. We learn that the regional offices in charge are working on a new management plan for the wild boar species, and it is useless to reiterate that before the complete drafting of the plan, there is a comparison between the offices and the hunting associations to bring an effective contribution in drafting the same. , bringing new discussion items to the table. Arci Caccia is available for the widest and most effective collaboration, with all associations, both with farmers and with the regional administration, but is no longer available to accept choices dictated by univocal and personal interests from whoever they are proposed, and it is certain that a possible exclusion of the hunting world from the discussion would not be useful to anyone, indeed, if anything, it would be harmful to everyone.
Unit We are perfectly aware of the problem and that certain choices can no longer be postponed: we want all hunters and in particular the teams that hunt wild boar to become aware of it. We must remain united, because failing to manage the wild boar means decreeing the end of the social hunting model we know today. We can no longer afford the luxury of letting the interest of a few prevail over the collective one, therefore in the face of the massive attack that is coming forward from the agricultural world, we need responsibility and the ability to create critical mass, without divisions or prevarication against other hunters who hunt wild boar or other forms of hunting. We cannot afford more divisions within our world, very often artfully created, even by some hunting associations for the benefit of the card or politics… “divide et impera”, the Romans said.
A useful model We appeal to the sense of responsibility of the many hunters. We have the right to defend our passion and also the duty to protect those who host us. Facing an emergency - and unfortunately we have realized what it means in this year for much more serious reasons - means that the actions of those who are called to administer and respond to a real need are not always popular choices, so the time has come. time to demonstrate that the hunting world is up to the challenge. Arci Caccia is on the field to defend social hunting and the Italian model, but we need the support and responsibility of all hunters. This is imposed on us by the role and the respect we have towards our members and towards all hunters, who continually feel they are being singled out as the only ones responsible for the problem. We can no longer allow this, we do not want to defend the clever, we want to defend the honest; the mistakes made in the past by some hunting associations, such as making the big voice of bullies prevail, and the limit of regional politics that for electoral purposes has ridden consensus, have caused incalculable damage to the hunting world. The modern hunter must be aware that his work must be useful to quickly restore the imbalances that have arisen in nature and not only on the wild boar species, becoming a useful model for the community. Only in this way will we earn the respect that our category deserves (Emanuele Bennati - Regional President of Arci Caccia Umbria).