For five months the dull sounds of gunshots echoed across the countryside and woodlands of Italy. For five months we were held hostage by a small band of armed individuals who consider killing a pastime, making natural areas unsafe for everyone else — that is, 99 per cent of the population. Now, thankfully, it is over: on 31 January the hunting season came to a close (even though in some regions shooting will continue for several more days), and it is time to count the casualties caused by this absurd practice that has long outlived its time. The association Vittime della caccia has published its annual dossier on the 2017/18 hunting season. Among the victims are, of course, thousands of wild animals — but not only: there are also minors, civilians, domestic animals, protected species and hunters themselves.

The tip of the iceberg

The dossier presents a partial picture of the harmful effects of hunting, recording only what reaches the media, yet it still offers an alarming portrait of the phenomenon. Even more incomplete are the data gathered on poaching and animal victims — both domestic and wild — which represent only the tip of the iceberg.

A war bulletin

Overall, this hunting season has killed thirty-one people, among them one minor, ten non-hunter civilians and twenty hunters. The injured numbered eighty-seven: two minors, twenty-four civilians and sixty-one hunters.

The arrogance of firearms

Despite dozens of victims being claimed by hunting weapons every year, the state does not appear willing to protect the overwhelming majority of its citizens from this danger. First of all, the absurd and anachronistic Article 842 of the Civil Code is still in force, which allows hunters to access private land regardless of the landowner's wishes. Moreover, hunters who fire near or at a dwelling cannot be prosecuted criminally but are merely subject to an administrative fine of 206 euros.

Stories of everyday madness

This inexplicable laxity breeds monsters, as evidenced by some of the newspaper headlines collected by the association Vittime della caccia. "12-year-old girl injured while in her home garden", "House riddled with bullets by hunters in Codognè. 'We fear for our children.' The shower of pellets also pierced the curtain in the children's bedroom where the little ones were sleeping", "Sarzana — Hunting near homes sparks a quarrel with a resident and the hunter shoots him at point-blank range. 47-year-old man seriously wounded in the abdomen", "Gun goes off, thirteen-year-old kills his grandmother — the weapon belongs to his father, who had just returned from a hunting trip", "Horror at a bus stop: a wolf killed and hanged from the shelter, discovered by some children waiting for the school bus", "Out hunting with a child of around 10, firing at a wild boar just metres from houses", "70-year-old hunter aims at pheasants but hits the bedroom of two children aged 5 and 3 in a country house".

The massacre of domestic animals

Among the innocent victims of the bloodstained season just ended are also numerous domestic animals. In this case, more than ever, it is difficult to establish the actual number of victims; the confirmed figure is twenty-five. Among them we mention Rocky, Lampo, Selvaggia, Asso, Balù, SenzaNome, Meow, Shiro, Fabietto, Keya, Lucky, Cico, Roccia, Giri, Nebbia, Thor and Freccia. In the majority of cases these dogs and cats were in their home garden and were killed, more or less deliberately, by hunters.

Hunters or poachers?

There are of course hunters who operate within the law, but the line is often extremely thin. According to what the association Vittime della caccia reported for the previous hunting season, "79 per cent of hunters responsible for hunting-related offences and offences against persons were found to be holders of a hunting licence." What is certain, therefore, is that many licensed hunters hunt protected species or use illegal means, such as snares and live decoys. In September, Lipu denounced the unlawfulness of the Italian hunting season: "Illegal hunting: eleven regions without a wildlife management plan and five threatened species still open to hunting. A complaint has been submitted to the European Commission regarding deficiencies in planning and impact assessment."

Hunting is a cost for everyone

In addition to claiming victims of whatever species, hunting also carries costs that fall on the entire community. This season there were 26 confirmed cases in which it was necessary to call in an air ambulance to retrieve injured or deceased hunters, in addition to the numerous specialist teams deployed for recovery operations in difficult and inaccessible terrain.

Double standards

Despite the evident danger posed by hunters — the numbers speak for themselves — a large part of the media continues to treat these "accidents" as tragic misfortunes, while, for example, constantly stoking alarm over the return of the wolf, a protected animal that is fundamental to ecosystem balance. Hunters have killed thirty-one human beings in the past five months; the wolf has not claimed a single human victim in over a century — we believe it is superfluous to say which is more dangerous.

Hunters, an endangered species

The good news is that in Italy the number of hunters is steadily declining and the average age is rising. It is no coincidence that most of those responsible for hunting-related offences in 2017/18 were aged between 61 and 70. Hunters are therefore an endangered species, and if the state has no intention of protecting its citizens from these individuals, all we can do is wait — while continuing to report every irregularity — for the moment when the sound of gunshots finally stops echoing.