Italy: Pope Leo XIV criticises hunting reform DDL 1552

While the Italian Senate debates the controversial hunting reform DDL 1552, Pope Leo XIV has voiced his criticism.

In reply to a letter from the bird protection organisation LIPU, he stated that the matter was a «question of great social and moral significance», and prayed that «the legitimate wishes of LIPU may be fulfilled».

What happened

LIPU-BirdLife Italia had addressed a letter to the Pope from Assisi, during its assembly. Through the Vatican Secretariat of State, Leo XIV had a reply sent a few days later. He stressed the neutrality of the Holy See on legislative matters of individual states, but expressed «appreciation for the sensitivity and the work» on behalf of nature. LIPU President Alessandro Polinori spoke of a powerful emotion and a great surprise. The letter falls in the year of the eight hundredth anniversary of the death of Saint Francis, the patron saint of animals.

What the law is about

The bill DDL 1552, also known as DDL Malan, considerably widens hunting law in Italy. Among other things, it provides for expanding the species usable as live decoys from seven to 47, which would mean a return to the capture of wild birds, as well as an extension of hunting times until after sunset. In addition there are the expansion of hunting into protected areas and coastal stretches, a weakening of the previously binding opinion of the environmental authority ISPRA, and the loss of special protection for the wolf. The EU Commission had already pointed out to Rome in December 2025 incompatibilities with the Birds and Habitats Directives. Wild beim Wild has documented the reform several times, for example in the article «Massive hunting reform in Italy: an attack on wild animals».

An infringement procedure over Italy's hunting policy is already under way, among other things over exemptions for protected species and the use of lead ammunition in wetlands.

The Senate approves

On 23 June 2026, the Senate adopted the reform by 80 votes to 56 with two abstentions. The text now goes to the Chamber of Deputies. However, this does not mean the law has been definitively passed: if the Chamber agrees to amendments, the draft returns to the Senate. Only when both chambers support the same text is the reform definitively passed, after which President Sergio Mattarella reviews its constitutionality before signing it.

That a Pope should comment on national hunting legislation at all is remarkable. Previous Popes were strikingly reticent on the subject of nature conservation. Leo XIV chose cautious, diplomatic words and avoided any direct appeal to the government, yet the message was unambiguous: the country's most prominent moral figure took the side of the bird protectors. It did not impress the majority in Rome. The Pope's appeal, the protests of numerous associations and the warnings from Brussels did not halt the adoption in the Senate. Once again, experience proves the point: majorities pushing through such a law are rarely stopped by moral appeals. Yet the fight against the «legge sparatutto» is not over, as the second chamber still has the final word. For the background to the legal debate surrounding hunting, see also our dossier Hunting act.