The proposal before the Senate

Hunting, the reform presented in the C.D.M.: longer calendars and the creation of hunting companies

The law aims to regulate hunting activities on the basis of a wildlife scenario that has changed profoundly in recent years, and is certainly completely different from the early 1990s when Law 157 was passed.

20 June 2025

4' min read

Agriculture Minister Lollobrigida has submitted to the Council of Ministers the text amending law 157/92 on the 'protection of wildlife and hunting', also known as the hunting law. This morning, in fact, the majority group leaders (Malan for Fdi, Romeo for the League, Gasparri for Forza Italia and the deputy leader of the mixed group Salvitti) deposited the text in the Senate to update a law that is now outdated and does not guarantee efficient land management.

Despite the many accusations that have come from environmental and animal rights associations in recent weeks that the government is aiming to liberalise hunting, which poses a serious threat to wildlife, a legislative initiative is instead being pursued that aims to regulate hunting activities on the basis of a wildlife scenario that has changed profoundly in recent years, and is certainly completely different from the early 1990s when Law 157 was passed.

The outsized proliferation of wildlife in many Italian regions is at the root of serious economic damage to Italian farms (in recent weeks alone, crop destructions in wine and fruit and vegetable farms by fallow deer, roe deer and wild boar have been reported), it is responsible for a sharp increase in road accidents involving wild animals and is at the root of the spread (through the vehicle of the wild boar population) of African Swine Fever, a disease that is not transmissible to humans but which can cause very serious economic damage to pig farms estimated at around 2 billion for the entire Italian charcuterie industry should foreign countries block exports.

"Whoever governs," explained the Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, Francesco Lollobrigida, in the Cdm, "has the duty and the burden of responding to the needs of the nation. We started from an act of the Senate that formally committed the government in the last legislature, and from other acts of this legislature that emphasise the need for intervention, to resolve what is defined as a true 'emergency situation'. The nature of the law dictates that it should be dealt with by Parliament, giving all stakeholders the opportunity to represent their views and positions. The basic text is a balanced text that provides a basis for work on 157/92 that can no longer be postponed. If there is a difference between this Government's way of doing politics and the previous ones, it is that if Parliament gives a direction by a very large majority, including the political forces that are currently in opposition, the Executive acts accordingly as it is its duty to do'.

The text deposited by the group leaders starts from the report on the Senate act (which committed the government) on the damage caused to agriculture by wildlife. The report was approved without any votes against, not even by the forces that are now in opposition.

In the text of the report, the result of more than a year's work during which all the main associations concerned, including animal and environmental organisations, were heard, there is also mention of the imbalances that the failure to control wildlife brings not only to human activity but to the ecosystem itself.

The text deposited in the Senate will benefit from a faster timeframe, since the preparatory work on the basic text has already seen the approval of the relevant ministries, and a conflict with the relevant European directives has been ruled out, but at the same time it will put Parliament in a position to hear all interested parties

'The situation described on the current state of wildlife in Italy,' they explain at Masaf, citing the points of the Senate report, 'presents the traits of an emergency, with significant repercussions on agricultural production, public safety and territorial protection. It is necessary to seek a new balance in relations between man and wildlife through an intervention on the regulatory framework and therefore on Law 157 of 1992. The text has already been submitted to the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Tourism'.

The bill to amend the rules for the protection of wildlife and the management of hunting activity consists of eighteen articles and aims at finding a dynamic balance between the environment and the territory. With this in mind, it outlines a multifactorial governance of biodiversity, capable of harmonising environmental needs, agricultural activities, public safety and regulated hunting practices.

The decree intervenes on wildlife and hunting planning, and in particular on the organisation of territorial hunting areas (ATCs) that can be identified autonomously by the regions.

But, above all, it addresses a critical issue in the management of hunting activity: the determination of regional hunting calendars. The regions, on the basis of rigorous scientific data consistent with territorial specificities, will be able to postpone hunting activity for certain species beyond the first ten days of February.

"The measure," explains the person who worked on the dossier, speaking of the text presented, "also provides for the possibility that the regions may authorise the establishment of fauna-venom farms set up as enterprises. The change would broaden the conditions for access to and exercise of an activity that can generate economic opportunities even in peripheral areas, as well as improve the management and protection of the environment on more than 2 million hectares. Lastly, the amendment would have positive repercussions in terms of taxation, allowing for the application of a tax regime that is more consistent with the entrepreneurial nature of the activity carried out by hunting farms'.

Giorgio dell’OreficeVicecaposervizio
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Luogo: Roma
Lingue parlate: italiano, inglese
Argomenti: agricoltura, agroalimentare, made in Italy, vitinicoltura, olio
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