16-year-old with a rifle in his hand: How will the hunting law change?

On December 1, 2023, the Meloni government made an important commitment: to amend law 157/92 on hunting. The reform of Italian legislation regarding hunting activities seems quite urgent for some representatives of the hunting party Fratelli d’Italia, and therefore speaks on behalf of Patrizio La Pietra, Undersecretary of State for Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests, after several requests. The government has assured that discussions in parliament will begin in January.

Parliament will start examining proposed changes to the state hunting law immediately after the law comes into force, announced at the event titled “Great ecologists. The role of farmers, breeders, hunters and fishermen in the connection between nature and development” held in Pistoia. The budget law must be approved by the end of the year.

The aim of the reform seems to be to relax the rules “both in terms of permitted hunting periods, the number of species that can be hunted, and the methods by which this activity is permitted”, thus offering hunting opportunities to those who are permitted to engage in this activity. He’s 16, but only “with his guardian’s permission.” Let’s see together how hunting laws can change.

The text written by Sergio Berlato was presented to the Senate

Last December 5, a text written by Fdi MP Sergio Berlato was submitted to the ninth committee of the Senate by the Honorable Bartolomeo Amidei; This text aims to reform state law on hunting, as it is considered obsolete and no longer suitable to guarantee the proper management of hunting. Heritage fauna and natural habitats. But the changes originally proposed were the subject of a popular petition supported by the Rural Culture Association, which Berlato chairs and which collected over 500,000 signatures in just a few months.

With this reform, which hunters are eagerly awaiting, it is aimed to reduce the minimum age required to obtain hunting qualification to 16, as in most European countries, only after those who exercise parental authority sign the acceptance of responsibility. Currently hunting is only available to adults.

The second goal is to re-delimit protected areas, reducing the area where hunting activities are absolutely prohibited to 30 percent (20 percent in the Alpine region). Article 4 aims to make hunting possible even in protected and state-owned areas, with hunting activity also to be permitted in snow-covered lands (currently only permitted in the Alpine wilderness area) and in lands filled with rivers. It is banned by the European Union. Weapons are allowed to be carried along communication routes within parks and protected areas, provided they are unloaded and kept safe.

The calendar is also changing: the opening of the hunting season will take place in the first ten days of September and close in the third ten days of February, without restrictions based on regional soft openings. Instead, there will no longer be quiet days (Tuesdays and Thursdays) as Italy is the only country in Europe to impose this restriction and hunters can choose three days a week for hunting trips. Regarding migratory hunting, each license holder will be able to move freely within his own territory and will have thirty days to move within the national territory.

Owners and employees of agriculture-tourism-hunting companies will be able to shoot all year round. Finally, the hunting day will be extended to one hour after sunset, and it will now be possible to use any species that can be hunted as bait, not just the seven species specified in current laws.

Art. Article 5 eliminates the obligation to choose private hunting, which requires the hunter to choose in advance which form of hunting he will specifically carry out (roaming in a fixed location in the Alpine region among all other forms envisaged in the planned hunting activity).

Instead of dog training, shooting in specially authorized training camps was considered a separate article, it is now considered hunting time. It will become free even when stopped.

Art. Articles 15 and 16 instead provide for the transformation from criminal sanctions to administrative sanctions for certain violations deemed “minor”.

It is also envisaged to reorganize the Higher Environmental Protection and Research Institute ISPRA, which wants to be removed from the Ministry of Environment and transferred to the presidency of the Council of Ministers. Regional institutes for wildlife themselves.

“Just as protection does not mean immunity, governance does not mean embalming,” said Senator Amidei, noting that “Italian legislation is by far the most restrictive in Europe.”

Source: Today IT

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