Page 91 - Supplemento 2-2016 (ENG)

Tackling Environmental Crime throUgh standardized Methodologies

who is going to monitor those areas in which so far, based on our dossier pre-
sented in 2015 on “illegal killing”, that is birds killed with poaching, we have
estimated more than five million preys?

Before us in the list of countries where poaching is practised there is
Egypt which, in a way I can understand is a country difficult to control in terms
of poaching because of the use of fire arms. Italy follows soon after and then:
Syria, Cyprus, Malta and so on.

It is unacceptable that the most important Country from an environment
point of view in the Mediterranean, with great results in those operations on
the territory to contrast the adorno ( name of the European honey buzzard in
the dialect of Calabria) hunting in Calabria; the Pettirosso (robin) operation in
Brescia; all those hotspots which make Italy an unacceptable country to inter-
national tourists, is now experiencing a moment of lower attention on poa-
ching.

We don’t really want this to happen. We have raised the issue with parti-
cular strength to the Government asking them to pay attention as the signs they
are giving rather dangerous, sign of weakness. We don’t want that after the first
repressive actions in these areas, where there is still a sort of bond between
medieval tradition and poaching, a form of weakening would take over this
extraordinary action where Police Force and volunteers from our association
were involved and where they risked in the first place. Before the State Forestry
Department intervened in the Messina strait some incidents happened: the
explosion of a bomb on the site of “Lipu”, our association. In addition, Hon.
Annamaria Procacci had to draw the attention of the Parliament whit some
European honey buzzards dead, as tens of thousands of them had been killed.
And Anna Giordano’s car was blown up.

Currently in the Messina strait area our volunteers are mostly young peo-
ple from Reggio Calabria who for fear, initially, couldn’t go to watch birds; they
were threatened and couldn’t experience the beauty of these birds of prey that
transit from Sicily to Calabria.

Fortunately the situation has changed today and we must not lower our
guard, we must continue of action of information and awareness. It is funda-
mental that we speak to young generations. Our association is rich in young

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