The hunting season which ends on January 31st "except for extensions of various kinds" was characterized by "at least five serious violations of the Birds Directive, exposing Italy to a new community infringement procedure. And the Lega's proposed law will make the situation completely unmanageable" .
This was declared by Lipu (Italian Bird Protection League), recalling the first community violation which "concerns the 20 species hunted despite being in a poor state of conservation and in the almost total absence of adequate management plans".
"No less serious - he adds - is the second infringement, namely the killing of birds during pre-reproductive migration".
Lipu states that "the European ban on the use of lead ammunition in wetlands" was "also circumvented" and "the obligation to produce data that provides a picture of the impact of hunting on biodiversity was ignored".
Finally there is "rampant poaching", which continues to represent a plague.
Alessandro Polinori, president of Lipu-BirdLife Italia, criticizes the League's bill in the Chamber of Deputies, which "regionalizes scientific opinions, eliminates the closing limits of the hunting season, liberalizes hunting methods, makes appeals against illegitimate hunting calendars impossible".
Finally, Lipu underlines "the absolute silence of the Minister of the Environment Pichetto Fratin, who should also represent the maximum institutional reference for the defense of biodiversity and environmental legality", and makes it known that it wants to "integrate the complaint documentation already sent to the European Commission. Procedure of infringement and condemnation of our country - concludes the president of Lipu - are now indispensable".
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