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“Save the Bear” has signed the joint statement issued by animal rights and environmental organizations, which strongly condemn the serious implications of Bill 1552 on the protection of wildlife and the regulation of hunting, currently under consideration in the Senate.<\/p>\n
We are facing what we believe to be the most significant regulatory rollback in recent decades regarding the protection of wildlife and biodiversity. This measure not only ignores scientific evidence and EU obligations but also risks irreversibly undermining the conservation efforts made in recent years.<\/p>\n
The measures contained in the bill are a veritable gift to hunting lobbies, at the expense of the public interest, the protection of ecosystems, and our country\u2019s natural heritage. Among the most concerning aspects are the opening of the hunting season during the extremely sensitive period of pre-breeding bird migration, the marginalization of ISPRA\u2019s scientific role, the expansion of hunting into areas that have been protected until now, and the revival of the practice of live decoys, which has already been challenged by the European Union.<\/p>\n
The figures on hunting pressure in Italy clearly illustrate the scale of the phenomenon. In April 2025, ISPRA published the most comprehensive report to date on the culling of Italian birdlife, based on data from hunting licenses collected by the regions. The analysis shows that in the 2022\u20132023 hunting season alone, over 5.39 million birds belonging to huntable species were killed. This is an enormous figure, which pertains exclusively to birds and does not include mammals, ungulates, or other species subject to hunting.<\/p>\n
Even more striking is the cumulative figure. Analysis of official data collected by ISPRA shows that, during the hunting seasons between 2017 and 2023, more than 32 million birds were recorded as having been killed in Italy. The institute also points out that these figures may be underestimated due to gaps and incompleteness in the data reported by some regional administrations.<\/p>\n
Given these figures, the decision to promote a reform that further expands hunting opportunities and diminishes the weight of scientific assessments seems incomprehensible. If millions of animals are already being killed each year under current regulations, the priority should be to improve monitoring, strengthen protections, and ensure compliance with European directives on biodiversity conservation\u2014not to relax existing restrictions.<\/p>\n
Particularly serious is the decision to diminish the role of science in wildlife management. In an era marked by an unprecedented climate and biodiversity crisis, lawmakers should strengthen monitoring and conservation tools, not weaken them. Excluding or downplaying the importance of technical and scientific advice means favoring political decisions that are disconnected from the ecological reality of local areas.<\/p>\n
As an organization committed to the protection of the Marsican brown bear and the Apennine ecosystems, we view with deep concern a regulatory framework that treats wildlife not as a shared heritage to be protected, but as a resource to be exploited. Italy\u2019s biodiversity is already under enormous pressure: habitat loss and fragmentation, climate change, invasive infrastructure, and growing conflict with human activities. In this context, expanding hunting opportunities means further exacerbating an already critical situation.<\/p>\n
This is not merely an ethical issue, but also a legal and administrative one. In fact, many of the provisions set forth in the bill risk conflicting with European nature conservation legislation, exposing Italy to new infringement proceedings and costly litigation.<\/p>\n
For these reasons, we support the appeal addressed to Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin. In the face of a measure that jeopardizes the protection of wildlife and national biodiversity, silence and inaction are no longer acceptable. Immediate action is needed so that the government halts this reform and initiates a serious, transparent dialogue grounded in scientific knowledge.<\/p>\n
Italy\u2019s natural environment does not need fewer protections. It needs bolder policies, investments in conservation, and a vision that looks to the future. Bill 1552 moves in the opposite direction, which is why we are calling for it to be stopped before it causes irreparable damage to our country\u2019s natural heritage, which is already under attack due to widespread poaching throughout the country.<\/p>\n