Hunting Bill: the President’s review begins, with deregulation for hunters in the spotlight. The EU’s guiding light
The Agriculture Committee of the Chamber of Deputies begins its examination of the bill today. Barricades have been erected by the opposition and environmentalists. Farmers, on the other hand, are backing the measure
Key points
The draft bill to reform the Hunting Act (157/92) is entering its final stages. The Chamber of Deputies’ Agriculture Committee is due to begin its examination of the bill today, following the Senate’s vote on 23 June. Meanwhile, there are growing rumours that the Quirinale is keeping a close eye on the bill, in particular to check that the new provisions are compatible with the EU Habitats Directive and the rules on bird migration.
The Quirinale is also keeping a close eye on the draft bill
It is understood that the Quirinale’s technical departments have not yet begun their examination of the draft bill. But they will do so. In particular, they will assess whether – as has been claimed by various quarters – this law extends hunters’ rights and, above all, whether it is compatible with EU legislation.
EU Commission: we are closely monitoring the draft law on hunting
The bill is not just under the spotlight of the Colle. “The European Commission is closely monitoring the hunting bill, which has been approved by the Senate and is now under consideration by the Chamber of Deputies, and which increases the number of species that can be hunted, extends the hunting seasons and expands the areas where game may be shot.” This was explained by the EU Commission’s spokesperson, Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, during a press briefing in Brussels. The measure, says Itkonen, “is still at the draft stage. We are in contact with the Italian authorities. We will continue to be so, but as regards any comment on the legislation relating to hunting, we will only do so once the legislative process in Italia has been concluded. However, it is correct to say that we are closely monitoring the issue and will follow its developments.”
The key points of the measure
The critical points are those already highlighted on several occasions by the opposition parties – with Avs and M5S at the forefront – who, together with the PD, have called for the bill to be referred to the Chamber of Deputies’ Environment Committee as well, and who have not hesitated to describe the bill as a “shoot-to-kill bill”. These range from the possibility (entrusted to the regions) of extending the periods of the year during which hunting is permitted, to the risk of the regions themselves expanding the areas where hunting is permitted (which currently accounts for between 20 and 30 per cent of the region’s agricultural-forestry-pastoral land of the region), and the risk of deregulation regarding protected species as well as the use of live decoys – the latter of which, according to the bill’s critics, risks fuelling the illegal trade in birds.
In particular, criticism of the discretion that would be granted to the regions in setting hunting calendars risks, in the view of many, allowing hunting to take place during species’ breeding seasons or, worse still, during their migration periods. These two aspects in particular are likely to prove to be at odds with the relevant EU regulations.
