Riding the wave of the well-known Constitutional Court ruling no. 139/2017, some environmental/protectionist associations are preparing to attack all regional laws that allow regions to employ hunters trained in containment operations and the implementation of culling plans.
In recent days, the Abruzzo Regional Administrative Court (TAR) has issued an order referring the Abruzzo regional hunting law to the Constitutional Court, following an appeal by ENPA and LAV. Around sixty Umbrian hunters have also been reported, identified by WWF security guards during containment operations organized by the Umbria Region.
Similarly, recent bellicose declarations by environmentalists, committed to the most extreme protectionism, have emerged regarding the intention to undertake similar initiatives in all those Regions that have approved similar laws. They believe, in accordance with the principle of horizontal subsidiarity enshrined in Article 118 of the Constitution, that given their limited resources, they can rely on private entities—and therefore especially hunters specially selected following specific training courses—to effectively implement the control of wildlife species that pose a real threat to those who live and work in certain territorial areas.
These are the same representatives who celebrated the government's withdrawal of two amendments—to Articles 12 and 19, respectively—to Law 157/1992 during the approval of the Budget Law, which would have solved the problem. They also failed to mention that this occurred only because the amendments had little to do with financial regulations.
These same representatives are still silent about the recent entry into force of Legislative Decree 230/2017, which, in dictating provisions aimed at preventing and managing the introduction and spread of invasive alien species (which Europe, we recall, calls for the eradication of), allows the Regions and the autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano to also seek the collaboration of "private entities."
It is always the same representatives who stubbornly want to ignore the fact that the Regions are desperately trying to remedy the abnormal invasion, even in city centers, by ungulates. Having abandoned the forests, they have taken over first the countryside and now even the cities, thus posing a grave danger to all citizens and causing damage estimated at over 100 million euros in the last year alone.
The most forward-thinking Regions have therefore taken it upon themselves to enact laws aimed at the urgent and urgent control and containment of this phenomenon. To meet a clear public interest, aware of the lack of personnel capable of responding, they have provided for the use of hunters, previously qualified by attending specific courses and passing the relevant exam. This is currently expressly permitted only to the Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano, with a clearly incongruous disparity in provisions and treatment compared to the Regions.
What is considered "hunting," that is, the control and implementation of culling plans by licensed hunters, are instead extraordinary forms of public safety interventions ordered by the Regions, performed free of charge, on a voluntary basis, with all that this entails, including financial commitment and personal risk. They are performed in the service of the Public Administration and citizens, devoid of any recreational or recreational aspect.
Therefore, if environmental/protectionist associations intend to attack regional laws by exploiting the "trench" dug by the Constitutional Court with ruling no. 139/2017, Federcaccia wishes to make it known that it is ready to support the Regions—and with them the hunters engaged in these services—in their defense, deploying all its forces and resources.
Because before questioning the constitutionality of regional laws, there is considerable reason to question the constitutionality of Articles 12 and 19 of Law 157/1992, finally submitting the relevant question to the Court as an incidental matter, due to the aforementioned incongruity and unreasonableness.
Federcaccia thus intends to demonstrate once again its readiness to take action alongside the Regions, supporting them in their demands, already expressed by the State-Regions Conference, and reiterating to national legislators the need for an urgent response to this situation for balanced and rational management of the environment, land, and biodiversity, but above all for the protection of primary values such as public health and safety, the protection of jobs, entrepreneurship, and agricultural, forestry, and pastoral activities.
It does so in the full awareness that preserving the environment and wildlife are essential elements for any sustainable use of the territory, from the ordinary citizen seeking refreshment by immersing himself in nature to those who live there, to those who practice and seek a more satisfying hunting activity.
In pursuing these goals – as has been the case in previous legal cases involving hunting calendars, which were so “painful” for environmental/protectionist associations – the hunting world finds its legitimate place as a primary protagonist.
The hunting world has indeed demonstrated its awareness that sustainable hunting cannot be separated from supporting the Public Administration in planning land management, protecting biodiversity, scheduling scientific research activities, collecting data, collaborating in the development of regulatory documents, and organizing preparatory and training courses.
These are concrete resources, spent for the sole purpose of preserving the environment (an absolute asset without which hunting, culture, and hunting-related traditions would be deprived of lifeblood), which are made available free of charge to the Public Administration.
Rome, February 27, 2018 – Italian Hunting Federation
From federdaccia.org
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