The grazing season
The summer pasture season has begun again this year, a virtuous practice that allows the use and protection of precious and delicate areas at high altitudes, promotes animal welfare and characterizes the distinctiveness of the dairy production of the alpine areas. Despite an increasingly industrialized evolution of breeding, fortunately this practice still persists in our area thanks to the commitment and efforts of our farmers. Life in a malga is demanding and tiring to deal with, often in uncomfortable places and situations and in the absence of many services and amenities. For some time now, as everyone knows, there are other elements that are strongly undermining this breeding practice.
Lots of predations
The predations by large carnivores are constantly increasing and it is not possible to find the techniques that can definitively safeguard the herds or flocks. Fences, guard dogs, the presence of staff seem to be not enough. Today the representatives of Cia-Agricoltori Italiani Trentino wanted to go to Malga Boldera di Ala, in the Lessini mountains, to express closeness and see with their own eyes what recently happened on the pastures managed by the Ala Breeders' Society. From 6 to 28 June, in just twenty days there were several predations by wolves, present with three packs on the Lessini mountains. 13 calves and two donkeys were plundered or irreparably injured, out of a total of 64 cows and two donkeys. the farmer Cornelio Bazzanella has lost 8 calves out of the 11 owned by him. And we are only at the beginning of the season. “The damage is not only the predation, but everything behind it and which is not covered by the compensation: the time for the reconstruction of the fences, the transport and disposal of the carcasses, the veterinary care for the injured animals, but not only that, there is the trauma of the other animals for fright, often then the pregnant women lose the calf!” Cornelius told us.
Experimental fences
Malga Boldera is recognized as a virtuous example of management: in 2016, experimental anti-wolf fences with particular characteristics were created together with the Forestale. A fence erected and disassembled every year, made up of 7 electric wires along the entire perimeter of the pasture, or 3,2 km, for a total of 22,5 km of shepherd wire. The pasture is divided into two sectors for better management of the animals and to ensure greater electricity voltage. Now the fence has been breached. It seemed that the construction techniques were decisive but this is not the case. We are facing a dramatic situation: the wolves throw themselves headlong among the electrified wires slipping inside the fence and preying on the heifers, and it is not even possible to increase the voltage of the fences because it would create a danger of death from electrification for people and animals. For some years now, the Habitats Directive and the European and national protection standards have been asked to adapt to the circumstances, to the now excessive presence of predators in mountain pastures, allowing management rather than providing only for protection and compensation.
The CIA's point of view
The number of predators is now well above the threshold of the much-declaimed coexistence. The director of CIA-Trentino adds: “The agricultural world, especially the zootechnical one, has long been asking to intervene where necessary, but for too long there have been no convincing answers. And by now it is clear to everyone that, if the European Community and the national State do not intervene in the very short term with concrete measures, the fate of mountain farming will be marked with all the consequences of the case”. The President of Cia Trentino, Paolo Calovi, underlines: “We must not forget that few maintain an environmental, economic and landscape-cultural heritage from which we all benefit. Protecting and supporting them is our duty!” (Source CIA)