Following the poisoning of several animals, the Appennino Lucano Val d'Agri Lagonegrese national park has sounded the alarm over pesticides.
With the arrival of spring, the use of pesticides in agricultural fields increases, and so too does the number of animals found poisoned by these substances. This is the alarm raised by staff at the Appennino Lucano Val d'Agri Lagonegrese national park, who in recent weeks have come to the aid of several specimens displaying symptoms of chemical poisoning. In many cases, the main suspect would appear to be one of the most dangerous herbicides still in circulation: glyphosate.
"We must keep attention high on the issue of chemical use in agriculture and develop an information pathway and sharing of good practices, to set out on a road that leads to their abandonment," said deputy commissioner Antonio Luca Conte.
In recent weeks, staff at Cras (wildlife rescue centres) have assisted several animals that fell victim to these substances, but every year it is thousands of plants and animals, both wild and domestic, that are killed by these products.
"I had already suspected that there were animals affected by herbicide use at the end of April, with a dead green lizard – Conte explained to Kodàmi –. Then I found another one, and at a farm I noticed an owl with clear symptoms of poisoning. I took it straight to the Policoro wildlife rescue centre for treatment." According to reports, the deputy commissioner also reconstructed the animal's story, discovering that its mother had also died a few days earlier in that area.
Pesticides have devastating effects precisely on birds of prey, such as owls, which are found on the ground or dying with evident symptoms of chemical poisoning. Even chicks, the youngest specimens, suffer the consequences, "developing neuro-degenerative conditions that prevent their release, condemning them to a life in a cage," Conte notes.
For the park, the main suspect would appear to be glyphosate, one of the most widely used herbicides in the world, produced, among others, by Monsanto, an agrochemical multinational acquired in 2018 by Bayer. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers glyphosate a highly dangerous substance capable of causing cancer. And yet it is still present in a great many products for agricultural use.
"There are various experiences and a great deal of scientific data showing that urban green areas and rural zones can be managed without poisoning the ecosystem in the process – Conte notes –. For example, a proper understanding of the biological cycle of the most problematic plants, combined with mechanical or biological treatment, or treatments based on naturally derived herbicides such as pelargonic acid, can avoid the need to resort to dangerous chemical substances."
The deputy commissioner then concludes with an appeal to the administrations, citizens and businesses operating in the protected area to abandon the use of substances that are toxic to the environment and to people, in the name of the respect that we should once again show towards the land.