Poaching in Italy is a constant emergency, a scourge that puts entire populations under severe strain. The handful of volunteers supported by law enforcement can do very little. We are among the leading exporters of poachers across all of Eastern Europe.
7 o'clock in the morning. There's no need to set the alarm anymore, because autumn has arrived. And in the countryside, in autumn, the alarm is the sound of rifle shots. On Sundays it's a veritable barrage of blasts, just a few steps from people's homes. In Lombardy, Veneto, Tuscany, and further south in Sardinia, Calabria, Sicily — to name just a few of the hotspots along the boot. On 2 September, a new season opened in most Italian regions: hunting season.
"Not a day goes by without us going out on patrol and without hunters being reported, with regular firearms licences and hunting permits." The speaker is Antonio Delle Monache, regional coordinator of the voluntary hunting wardens of the WWF, who in Lombardy work alongside the Carabinieri forestali and provincial wardens in monitoring the territory. "Just these past few days, a Eurasian eagle-owl that had been shot arrived at one of our wildlife recovery centres, along with at least another twenty or so birds of prey — from peregrine falcons to common buzzards to common kestrels." Anything with wings gets shot at, including small meadow pipits, chaffinches and reed buntings.
The figures are not certain: according to Istat data, there are around 700,000 hunters in Italy, a decline nonetheless compared to a few years ago, when the figure was three times as high. Not all hunters, however, are also poachers — that is, people who deliberately shoot protected species or species that cannot otherwise be hunted. "There is still a large section of hunters, coming mainly from the provinces of Brescia and Bergamo, who regard hunting as a means to shoot at any kind of bird, regardless of whether it is prohibited or not. An archaic form of hunting, completely out of time," explains Della Monache. "It's about going out into the countryside and shooting at whatever flies past."
Not a week goes by without news of a seizure or a report being filed. This is a sign that the phenomenon is far from stopping, and a sign that the Carabinieri forestali and the volunteers from environmental organisations who patrol the territory play a fundamental role in combating poaching in Italy. The most striking case is the one from a few weeks ago: Operation Pettirosso involved more than 50 officers, led to charges against over a hundred people in the Brescia area and to the seizure of 56 rifles, almost 1,300 illegal trapping devices and over 2,600 birds, of which only 216 were alive. Plus 6,900 rounds of ammunition and 30 metres of netting. "The fact is that they can move freely throughout the entire region and it is extremely difficult to intercept them. They are highly organised and know how and where to hide traps and prey," Delle Monache recounts.
It is not only passerines that are targeted, but also larger, particularly protected species that would never end up in restaurants in Brescia or Bergamo. Such as the Egyptian vulture shot on 9 September last near Mazara del Vallo. It was a female born in captivity as part of the Life Egyptian vulture project, aimed at the conservation of the Egyptian vulture and developed in Italy and in the Canary Islands, Spain, with co-financing from the European Union. "This animal, a particularly protected species, was part of a project to reintroduce the species in Italy, where it is severely endangered," says Giovanni Albarella of Lipu, the Lega italiana per la protezione degli uccelli. "The killing therefore does not represent 'only' the shooting of a protected animal, but also constitutes a serious setback for the success of the project and therefore for the recovery of the nesting population in Italy".
Poachers migrate, just like the species they hunt. In the trade it is known as hunting tourism: fully organised tours — transport and accommodation included — to the areas of highest density: Calabria, Sicily, but also Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia. "A few months ago a consignment of more than two thousand protected birds coming from the forests of Eastern Europe was seized," Dalle Monache continues. "Hunters go there and clean the place out to feed the restaurant market".
It may seem incredible, but spit-roasted birds are still part of the diet of people in Lombardy and Veneto. "Last January, a fully-fledged organisation dedicated to hunting tourism for hunters from northern Italy was uncovered in the Cosenza area. During the police operation, more than three thousand protected birds were seized, which were to have been sent north for the usual preparation of traditional dishes," Albarella recounts.
"In Reggio Calabria, the Carabinieri forestali dismantled a network of poachers who had created a fully-fledged criminal association aimed at capturing and trading birds — mainly finches — destined for the illegal market for the preparation of gastronomic dishes and for the illegal market in live decoys in Malta."
But it is probably Sicily that has the highest incidence of poaching activity. The Strait of Messina and the island in general are the last stopover and resting point for many migratory birds before the great leap across the southern Mediterranean or northward, towards the heart of Europe. Even today in the famous Ballarò market in Palermo, goldfinches are sold openly, while at the traditional market in Favara the most varied species can be found. But it is criminal organisations that are responsible for the greatest damage.
"There is a fully-fledged criminal organisation devoted to poaching raptors," says Ennio Bonfanti, a voluntary warden with decades of experience in Caltanissetta. "Sicily is a veritable treasure chest from which to steal falcons and fuel the black market for birds of prey. The illicit proceeds yield extremely high earnings. A single specimen can cost as much as 20,000 euros." Here too the groups are extremely well organised and law enforcement is often far too thin on the ground.
"We volunteers try to counter the phenomenon during the breeding season, from March onwards. A spontaneous group has formed, made up of volunteers from all age groups and social backgrounds, who physically position themselves at the foot of the mountains 24 hours a day to protect nests and act as a deterrent," Bonfanti continues. "Gruelling work." But how is it possible for species of high conservation value, which are protected and above all still alive, to cross national borders? Simple: all you need to do is falsify birth certificates. International law does in fact allow protected specimens to be bought and sold, provided they were born in captivity. All it takes is a small ring and an obliging breeder, and the trick is done. Dozens of falcons leaving for Arab countries and the Middle East, sold at high prices to feed what remains, even today, a status symbol.
A spontaneous group has formed, made up of volunteers from all age groups and social backgrounds, who physically position themselves at the foot of the mountains 24 hours a day to protect nests and act as a deterrentEnnio Bonfanti, voluntary warden
Dangerous work, that of the volunteers, fraught with threats and reprisals. "Last year we found ourselves in a wood far from any main road and without mobile phone coverage, face to face with an armed poacher wearing a balaclava, who had managed to slip through the checks," Bonfanti recounts. "Of course we are trained for situations like this too; we know it can happen. In 2010 they set fire to my car, when I was already doing this kind of work." The volunteers, although public officials, cannot operate "by surprise": they must inform the relevant hunting authority of the exact day, place and time of the check, as well as the licence plate and type of vehicle. It goes without saying that leaks are always just around the corner. "Practically speaking, we have to let them know our moves at least a month in advance. Those above us are so fond of us that they want to know exactly where we're going," he concludes, with irony.
Read also: In Sicilia è emergenza bracconaggio. Colpiti in pochi giorni un falco e un avvoltoio
Read also: Ibis eremita. Partiti in 17, in 5 colpiti dai bracconieri
There are at least seven hotspots in the country, as identified by the national action plan against the illegal killing of wild birds drawn up by the Ministry of the Environment.
"There are territories where poaching i