The Senate approves the initial approval of the hunting bill, sparking controversy, with the opposition all opposing the measure, which they judge to be unsatisfactory on several counts. Giorgio Maria Bergesio, a League senator and the bill's rapporteur, supports the bill: "Now," he observes, "there will be active management to protect the land." But among the opposition, and especially at the sit-in organized by Legambiente, Lac, Lav, Enpa, Lipu, and WWF in front of the Pantheon, the rejection is unanimous.
The reform of the 1992 hunting law aims to recognize hunting as "useful for the conservation and protection of biodiversity and ecosystems," thus increasing the number of huntable animals and permitted hunting areas. Essentially, it no longer considers hunting an exemption from wildlife protection, but rather an activity that contributes in some way to environmental protection. For example, the duration and areas for wild boar hunting have been extended, and the number of huntable animals has generally increased. Hunting areas have also been expanded to include public forests and state-owned lands, including beaches, with ISPRA guidelines on certain aspects no longer binding.
And regarding potential EU objections, Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto had said in recent days that "the Ministry of Economic Development has always worked to ensure the bill's provisions are compatible with international obligations and EU legislation, smoothing out and eliminating critical provisions right from the working drafts." "The message behind this bill is clear: every natural space is considered potentially available for hunting, with wildlife treated as a resource to be exploited," says Aurora Floridia for the Greens Alto Adige-Südtirol, while longtime Green leader Angelo Bonelli believes that "the right wants to transform parks and beaches into hunting areas. A disgrace to biodiversity."
The Five Star Movement (M5S) is participating in the sit-in against the bill, which its leader, Giuseppe Conte, deems unconstitutional : "We believe," he clarifies, "that this legislative measure is contra constitutionem. The reform of Article 9 introduced into the Constitution the concept of environmental protection, the protection and preservation of biodiversity, and environmental sustainability, including for future generations." Italia Nostra also agrees with this view. The environmentalist association believes the bill represents a "serious setback in wildlife protection. It goes against Article 9 of the Constitution." "The law the right wants to pass," they say, "is an amendment to Regulation 157/92, which has historically ensured a fundamental balance between sustainable development, wildlife and land protection, and hunting activities. Now this majority wants to pass this 'shoot-all' law, a law that will allow hunting everywhere, without protection for animals or agricultural property, with the concrete risk that Italy will become Europe's hunting park through the total liberalization of permits."
