Brescia is to have a sanctuary for the rescue and care of wildlife. Injured animals, but also exotic species that have been mistreated and illegally imported.
The province of Brescia will soon be home to a wildlife rescue and recovery centre (Cras – Centro recupero animali selvatici), also equipped to handle exotic species and "non-invasive exotic" species that have suffered mistreatment or been illegally imported into Italy. Thanks to special funding, the Lombard city will thus become one of the main hubs for the care and protection of wild animals in the region.
The Brescia wildlife sanctuary will not only care for the wild fauna found in Lombardy, but will also become a point of reference for the care and protection of exotic species that are often kept illegally. "Lombardy is a territory with great biodiversity and a rich variety of flora and fauna, distributed across both the plain and our mountains, where in certain areas we can boast the presence of marmots, squirrels, colonies of ibex, hares and capercaillies.
We should also not forget that Lombardy has several regional parks (the Ticino park, shared with Piedmont, covers around 90,000 hectares) and a large section of the Stelvio National Park. Between national parks, regional parks, nature reserves, natural monuments and local parks of supra-municipal interest, the areas protected by parks and reserves account for 22.83 per cent of the region's total area. In light of these distinctive features, I felt it was important to focus on the protection and safeguarding of wild animals, by establishing a sanctuary in which qualified, experienced staff can guarantee them proper care and protection," explains Gianluca Comazzi, regional councillor in Milan and president of Fiba (Federazione italiana benessere animale).
As already happens at the other sanctuaries in Lombardy — the one at Vanzago in the Milan area and the one at Valpredina in the province of Bergamo — the Cras will be closed to the public in order to preserve the wellbeing of the animals housed there and to prevent close contact with strangers from hindering their recovery.
"Only staff will be allowed access to the centre, that is, the personnel working within the facility. The rescue and care of wild animals is complex work that requires great delicacy. The constant presence of tourists or visitors would risk disrupting the tranquillity of the environment and the animals' sense of calm. Anyone who is interested can nonetheless contact the facilities to explore the possibility of arranging a visit," adds Comazzi.
The wellbeing of wildlife is important for our ecosystem. And it takes very little to upset its delicate balance. The Brescia sanctuary will serve this purpose above all else. "The existence of centres like these, and of attentive, qualified staff within them, is in itself a sign of greater awareness towards animals and the environment that surrounds us and to which we too belong. Greater awareness of sanctuaries and the valuable work carried out within them can certainly help instil in citizens a new consciousness regarding the protection of animal rights," says Gianluca Comazzi, who was a strong advocate for the Brescia centre. Similar initiatives are also planned for other parts of Lombardy, with a view to an ever-improving approach to the highly sensitive issues of custodianship and protection of the territory.