Italian Wilderness Association replies to Life Wolfnet's claims on wolf killing in Italy; have calculated that in Italy in the last three years 115 wolves have been killed by various forms of "poaching" or in any case for human causes.
Killing an animal included in the list of protected, under the terms of the law is always and in any case poaching, even if at times it can be an act of defense of one's own interests or compensation for damages suffered and never paid by the State (a State which allows you to kill a wolf!).
They wrote that the death of 115 wolves (to which honestly we must add those of natural mortality) would put their species at risk, without explaining to the public why in the USA, where only in the States of Idaho and Montana (where the species was reintroduced 15 years ago with the initial 35 specimens) despite having killed as many as 2.300 in recent years alone, the population is not at all at risk of extinction (or do we want to believe that American wolves have a prolificacy that Italian wolves do not have, which , contrary to the well-known Latin "machismo", would they not be up to humans?).
In 2010 I estimated the presence of 4.500 wolves in Italy, with a mortality between natural and human of over 1.200 individuals between 1970 and 2010. And instead of becoming extinct, the wolf has increased dramatically (even with the probable help of our French cousins!). They, those of Life Wolfnet, come to us today instead to say that in the Apennines there are only 1.500: and who wants to believe us believe it, because only they know how this figure has been reached (which up to a few months ago are the same maximum Italian expert - Prof. Luigi Boitani - admitted that he did not know!).
Strange, then, the fact that today with thousands of wolves officially recognized as present, there is more media "noise" in supporting their protection, than when it was really needed (70s / 80s of the century last, when we said "noise" we paid for it all out of our own pocket!). Could it be due to the fact that today there are Life projects with their numerous "appointees" maintained by lavish European funding?
Because instead the Government is not being pressured to allocate the money to compensate, as it should, the damage caused by wolves, rather than spending it on useless biology research and, perhaps, to strengthen an equally useless anti-poaching surveillance and, bordering on ridicule, a kind of "RIS of the wolves"? That is, to prevent further deaths, when the reduction in the number of wolves would be needed more than in America. Indeed, an amendment to the law that protects the wolf would also be desirable, so that, in order to better ensure their survival, numerical control is allowed by means of programmed killing!
It may seem a contradiction, but this is the only way to prevent the growth of hatred towards the wolf and remove the fear that the wolf arouses in many. What do you do instead? In fact, farmers are forced into illegality, even if they were delegated by the State to do this, which, in this way, washes its hands of the problem.
In all the nations of the world inhabited by wolves, they are legally hunted to keep their numbers low, that is, in balance with the natural resources and social activities of the breeders: instead, more actions are required from us to prevent this from happening! Untouchable then, precisely the "Alpine" ones, which reason, logic and science should lead to completely eliminate the indigenous population of the Apennines, the Canis lupus italicus, as polluting animals.
In fact, in an absolutely undemocratic and illiberal way, the breeders are expected to maintain our wolf population. On the other hand, it would not be the case - as happens in ALL Nations with wolf populations - for the State to do it, instead of spending more money for "a careful and professional approach, aimed at real knowledge of the phenomenon and concretely supporting the breeders who, in some areas are affected by the effects of the presence of the wolf "?
Concreteness, concreteness, reasonableness and intellectual honesty, why are you in hiding so much in this country of hypocrites, deceivers, bureaucrats and preachers of beautiful but not very sensible ideas?
Frank Zunino
Secretary General of the Italian Wilderness Association
(January 12, 2015)
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