The hunting bill is coming: alarm from associations and the European Union
Environment — di Simone Santi
The hunting bill is on its way, but environmental associations and the European Union see an excessive loosening of regulations.
The hunting bill is coming: alarm from associations and the European Union
The hunting bill is on its way, but environmental associations and the European Union see an excessive loosening of regulations.
The majority presents it as a necessary update to a law that is more than thirty years old, designed to address the wildlife emergency and damage to agriculture. Environmental associations, however, are openly talking about "wild hunting", denouncing a rollback in environmental protections and accusing the government of wanting to bend legislation to the interests of the hunting world. It is around this clash that the debate in the Senate over the bill that deeply amends the old law on the protection of wildlife and hunting activity is playing out. The measure, informally dubbed the ddl caccia (hunting bill), has been discussed for a long time, and from the very beginning has generated controversy and concerns that have even crossed national borders, drawing the attention of Europe itself. Now, however, the hour of reckoning is approaching, with the examination of the text almost complete.
Dopo lo spot contro la caccia, Fondazione Capellino si rivolge ai parlamentari: "Fermate il DDL caccia" fanpage.it/kodami/dopo-lo… - Dai sondaggi la conferma: la maggioranza degli italiani è contraria al DDL Caccia e chiede maggiori tutele per fauna selvatica e la biodiversità.
The hunting bill and wildlife management
In recent years, the growth of wildlife populations has become an increasingly central issue for the agricultural sector. Trade organisations and local administrations report millions of euros in damage to crops, while the number of road accidents caused by ungulates — wild boar in particular, which are growing in number and increasingly less wary of humans — is also rising. It is on this emergency that the majority bases the need for reform.
Not without considerable excess, however: in the very introductory text of the bill, the majority argues that Italian legislation is "the most restrictive in Europe" and that a new approach is needed, founded on the concept of "management" of wildlife rather than protection alone. According to the bill's promoters, the current law has made procedures excessively rigid, limiting the capacity for intervention by regions and local operators. To this end, regions would be allowed to establish their own regional wildlife institutes — which would effectively diminish the central role of Ispra, the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, currently the body responsible for technical and scientific opinions on hunting calendars and culling plans, and the entity that in practice also ensured compliance with the principle of animal protection.
The main changes introduced by the bill
On a practical level, among the most debated novelties is the extension of the hunting season: the bill lengthens the hunting period to a timeframe running from the first ten days of September through to the last ten days of February, with possible earlier starts in August for certain species. But not only will hunting be permitted for longer — a greater number of species will also be targeted: dark times are forecast, among others, for the greylag goose, the bean goose and the wood pigeon. This choice has sparked fierce controversy, particularly among environmental associations. Another central chapter concerns live decoys: the bill removes several restrictions currently provided for by law, allowing all huntable species to be used as decoys and replacing the mandatory identification ring with a simple document of provenance.
The measure also intervenes on the minimum age for hunting, allowing the activity from the age of 16 with parental consent and the accompaniment of an experienced hunter. On the front of wildlife control, the bill broadens the direct involvement of hunters in selective culling plans, including in areas where hunting is prohibited and outside normal hunting seasons. Among the most controversial changes are the possibility of transporting unloaded firearms in protected areas; the reopening of hunting from boats under certain conditions; the elimination of the traditional days of hunting silence; hunting on snow-covered ground from hides; and the year-round extension of activities at agritourism-hunting estates.
The clash with the European Union
Adding further fuel to the debate in recent days was the circulation of a letter from the European Commission, sent to the Italian government in December 2025 and 'uncovered' and made public by environmental associations. According to ENPA, LAC, LAV, Legambiente, LIPU and WWF Italia, Brussels had contested several parts of the bill, deeming them incompatible with the European Habitats and Birds Directives. In the crosshairs are the extension of out-of-season hunting, the weakening of Ispra's scientific role, the liberalisation of live decoys and the use of optical sighting devices. The associations accused the government of having concealed the contents of the letter and of having continued the parliamentary process without amending the text. In a joint statement they described the situation as "extremely serious conduct", calling for the immediate withdrawal of the measure and arguing that Italy risks new European infringement proceedings.
From that point on, the environmental front intensified its mobilisation. On 14 May, a flashmob took place outside the Senate and at the Pantheon, organised by several associations to denounce what they describe as a situation of "exceptional institutional gravity".
WWF Italia, ENPA, LAC, LAV and LIPU also wrote to the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, requesting an intervention "within the limits of his authority" in defence of the Constitution and European law. According to the associations, the bill would not only reduce the protection of wildlife, but would also risk curtailing the right to dissent through provisions against anyone who "obstructs or slows down" hunting activity, while also encouraging practices considered dangerous to biodiversity and public safety. For now, however, the ddl caccia continues its parliamentary passage unimpeded: the examination of amendments in the Senate's Environment Committee is nearing its conclusion, after which it will go before the full Assembly.