A first concrete step
The proposed reform of Law 157 / 92 on wild fauna finally represents the first concrete step towards the revision of an obsolete and deficient legislation that, for years now, has no longer allowed to deal with the ungulate emergency, despite the millions of dollars of damage to agriculture and the environment, the risk of diseases, increasingly frequent road accidents and threats to the safety of citizens even in urban areas. This is how Cia-Agricoltori Italiani takes stock of the proposed bill on the matter in the meeting organized today in Rome, at the national headquarters, with the Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida.
The situation has turned around
"We are facing an epochal turning point in trying to change thirty-year-old legislation that no longer responds to the changed agricultural, environmental and wildlife conditions of the country - explained the national president of Cia, Cristiano Fini -. If the 1992 law focused on the protection of fauna, today the situation has reversed, with some species in excess if not invasive. The most striking example concerns wild boars, responsible for 80% of the damage to the agricultural sector: we have gone from a population of 50 thousand heads in Italy in 1980 to 900 thousand in 2010, up to over 2 million today". Therefore "we appreciate that Minister Lollobrigida has opened the way, with the bill, to the construction of a new regulatory framework on the issue - continued Fini -. We cannot wait any longer, the situation is out of control and we need effective and adequate tools to put an end to the emergency".
Agricultural entrepreneurs
In particular, among the requests of Cia accepted in the current text of the bill, the recognition of the active role of agricultural entrepreneurs in the control of wild fauna, first and foremost wild boars, stands out. The bill provides, in fact, the possibility for farmers, equipped with a hunting license and specific training, to participate directly in containment plans, even in emergency contexts, contributing on the one hand to a more widespread and timely control of the territory and, on the other, responding to the sector's request for operational tools to defend crops and livestock and safeguard agricultural activity. Positive, for Cia, also the strengthening of the function of the ATC (Territorial Hunting Areas), which are entrusted with the task of promoting synergies with the agricultural world and which will be able to encourage practices favorable to the rebalancing of wild fauna.
Environmental protection and production needs
"The bill put on the table by Minister Lollobrigida is essential to begin to reverse the trend on the wild animal issue, which has become unsustainable from North to South Italy - reiterated Fini -. Cia is fully available to work together to fully seize the opportunity to reform the matter, recognizing equal dignity to the needs of environmental protection and production". In this sense, Cia reported to the minister three key points that should absolutely find space in the bill, starting with the introduction of automatic compensation tools for damage caused by wild fauna, which now amount to between 50 and 60 million euros per year. It is one of the most heartfelt requests by the Confederation and all farmers: the establishment of a compensation fund and simplified procedures for compensation. Furthermore, a national control room would be needed, also with agricultural representation, because the responsibility for containment is still too fragmented between different bodies (Regions, Provinces, police forces, managers of protected areas) with the risk of poor effectiveness; finally, a greater role for agricultural organizations in wildlife-hunting governance and planning (Source CIA).
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