Hunting: Senate gives the green light to the bill – from firearms to suspension periods, all the latest developments
A plan to update a regulatory framework that has remained unchanged since 1992. Environmentalists are up in arms. But over the past 35 years, the number of hunters has fallen by two-thirds and wildlife populations have soared
Key points
The Senate has given the green light to the reform of the hunting law, with 80 votes in favour, 56 against and two abstentions. The bill now passes to the Chamber of Deputies. The regulations laid down in Law 157 of 1992 have been revised after almost 35 years.
This green light was granted amidst a heated atmosphere both inside and outside the chamber. The bill – tabled by the FdI group leader, Lucio Malan – was the subject of over 900 amendments, mostly from opposition parties, who have dubbed it the ‘free-for-all’ because it would expand hunting opportunities and jeopardise public safety and wildlife protection. Representatives from the M5S and the PD took part in the sit-in against the bill organised by Legambiente, LAC, LAV, ENPA, LIPU and WWF.
On the one hand, environmental organisations have repeatedly highlighted the risk of deregulation in relation to hunting, going so far as to raise the spectre of hunters being able to carry out their activities with rifles on the beach amongst bathers; on the other hand, hunting organisations argue that the regulatory framework, which is almost 35 years old, needs to be updated.
The farms most affected by wildlife
Against this backdrop, the Italian agricultural sector has in recent years seen a massive proliferation of wildlife, which now poses a threat both to farming (with damage to crops becoming increasingly frequent) and to public safety, as demonstrated by the statistics on road accidents.
Over the past 35 years, the number of hunters has fallen from 1.5 million to 500,000
Another well-established fact is that the number of hunters has certainly not increased in recent years. When Law 157/92 was enacted, there were 1.4–1.5 million hunters in Italia, whereas today that figure has fallen below 500,000.
