Italy: Meloni's «shoot-everything» hunting act provokes EU dispute

Italy's Senate has passed the controversial hunting reform DDL 1552 («Ddl Malan»), despite massive criticism from environmental associations, the opposition and the EU Commission.

While thousands protest outside parliament against the «shoot-everything» act, pressure is mounting in Brussels: the Commission sees breaches of the Birds and Habitats Directives and is threatening new infringement proceedings.

Senate passes Meloni's «shoot-everything» act

On 23 June 2026, the Italian Senate adopted the draft DDL 1552 amending the framework hunting act by a clear majority; the text now goes to the Chamber of Deputies. The bill expands the list of huntable species, makes it easier to shoot in sensitive periods and permits hunting in areas that were previously far better protected – such as migratory bird routes, wetlands or certain coastal zones. At the same time, the scientific advisory body ISPRA is weakened, as its expert reports can more easily be overridden politically.

Politically, DDL 1552 is backed by Giorgia Meloni's government, which since the start of the legislative term has, through a series of legislative projects, systematically placed the interests of hobby hunting above the protection of species, nature and animals. In the run-up to the reform, Italian species and nature conservation associations had already criticised the original government draft as a text steeped in «hunting extremism» that effectively hands wild animals and natural areas over to the hobby hunters.

Particularly contentious is a clause that criminalises any act that «obstructs» hobby hunting – explicitly including non-violent forms of protest. According to lawyers, environmental associations and civil rights organisations, the reform thereby criminalises civil disobedience and effectively restricts freedom of assembly. Even beforehand, organisations and parts of the opposition had described the project as an attack on fundamental rights and as an attempt to silence criticism of the hunting lobby.

Protests: «Meloni declares war on wild animals»

In parallel with the Senate debate, environmental and animal welfare associations, together with opposition parties, mobilised for protest actions. In front of the Pantheon in Rome and outside the Senate, flash mobs and vigils took place, attended by organisations such as Enpa, Lac, Lav, Legambiente, Lipu and WWF. Banners spoke of an «attack on nature», of a «legalisation of poaching» and of a law that «wipes out 60 years of conservation policy».

In appeals and statements, the law is explicitly described as a project of the Meloni government that «delivers nature into the hands of hunters». Parties on the left and associations say the Prime Minister has «declared war on wild animals» and is ignoring even clear warnings from Brussels. According to campaign figures, more than 400’000 citizens have signed petitions against the DDL 1552, in addition to tens of thousands of signatures for a referendum against the hunting reform.

Brussels raises the alarm: risk of further EU proceedings

The conflict does not end at the national border: the EU Commission has already pointed out to Rome, in a formal letter, numerous incompatibilities with the Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive – in particular regarding exceptions to the hunting calendar, hunting during sensitive periods, the use of decoy birds and opto-electronic aids. Parts of these criticisms remain in the text despite marginal changes in the Senate, which, according to several specialist media and environmental lawyers, makes a new infringement procedure almost inevitable.

Italy is already facing proceedings over derogatory hunting of protected species, the use of lead ammunition in wetlands, and inadequate implementation of EU nature conservation law. A further procedure could lead to high fines, which would ultimately be borne by all taxpayers – even though the reform primarily benefits a small minority of hobby hunters. Commentators therefore speak of a «political gift to the hunting lobby» whose financial and ecological costs land on the general public.

Vatican and opposition: moral and constitutional criticism

Even before the Senate vote, Pope Leo XIV had, in a letter to the Italian bird protection organisation LIPU, described the hunting reform as a matter «of great social and moral significance» and expressed his hope that the criticism of conservationists would be taken seriously. In doing so he explicitly sided with the organisations warning of a weakening of the protection of birds, wolves and other wild animals.

In the Senate and in the media, opposition parties criticise that the reform undermines the duty to protect the environment enshrined in the Italian constitution and destroys the painstakingly balanced equilibrium of the 1992 hunting legislation. The Meloni government, for its part, promotes the narrative of «modernisation» and «damage control», but ignores the fact that EU law, scientific assessments and public opinion in Italy have long been pointing in a different direction.

A European pattern of hunting lobbies

The Italian case fits into a broader European pattern that wildbeimwild.com has already described in several dossiers: as soon as hunting lobbies find parliamentary majorities, species and animal welfare standards are watered down, EU requirements are overstretched, and citizen protests are criminalised. In parallel, EU states are struggling with the implementation of new restoration laws, which are actually intended to restore moorland landscapes, rivers and habitats and to reduce hunting pressure and habitat loss.

For Switzerland, the view towards Italy serves as a cautionary example: when the protection of wild animals is sacrificed to the lobbying pressure of the hobby hunters, it is not only wolves, migratory birds and other wild animals that come under pressure – but also trust in the rule of law and the acceptance of European nature conservation law.