Piedmont: Hunting suspended for an initial period of one year
By order of 7 September 2012, hobby hunting in the Italian region of Piedmont has been suspended for an initial period of one year.
The TAR, the highest court in Piedmont, has upheld the complaint against the 2012/2013 hunting seasons filed by the association for the abolition of hunting LAC (Lega per l'abolizione della caccia), Pro Natura, and SOS Gaia. Hobby hunting is therefore suspended for the 2012/2013 hunting season, which begins on 16 September.
Three reasons were cited for the suspension of hobby hunting: the absence of a regional wildlife management plan, a lack of assessment of the expected impacts on the Natura 2000 network, and the failure to take into account ISPRA's opinion on the setting of hunting seasons.
«It is a great victory and a great day for wildlife,» said Piero Belletti of Pro Natura.
«Hobby hunters can now have a lie-in on 16 September,» said the association for the abolition of hunting LAC.
Piedmont is the largest region in Italy after Sicily. It covers 25’399 square kilometres and has a population of 4’464’889. Piedmont is located in the wealthy north-west of Italy, bordering France and Switzerland, with Turin as its capital.
The decision from Piedmont could now have a domino effect on other Italian provinces.
Italy bans bird trapping
The Italian government permanently banned bird trapping in December 2014.
The last 92 large trapping installations (the so-called «Roccoli»), which were still in operation in northern Italy, must cease operations immediately.
The background is a proceeding that has been pending before the European Union for years due to a violation of the EU Bird Directive, initiated by the Italian nature conservation organizations LIPU, LAC, and the Bonn-based Committee Against Bird Slaughter. In November, Brussels threatened Italy with a fine running into the millions if the trapping installations were not shut down. “The ban on bird trapping in Italy is a milestone for the protection of migratory birds,” says Heinz Schwarze of the Committee Against Bird Slaughter. “Nature and animal welfare advocates from across Europe have fought for this for decades — now the nets must finally be taken down.”
The Bird Directive, adopted as far back as 1979, prohibits bird trapping throughout the entire EU. The northern Italian regions of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna continued until the very end to permit the operation of the vast Roccoli — with a combined total of around 27 kilometres of nets — citing tradition as justification.
In recent years, the annual trapping of up to 40’000 larks, thrushes, and finches had been authorised — the birds were used as live decoys in hobby hunting. In a statement addressed to the Italian government, the European Commission points out that the birds could also be bred in captivity and that removal from the wild is therefore unnecessary.
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