Of the approximately 3,300 wolves registered in Italy, more than a thousand are found in Piedmont. The very heated debate that involves animal rights associations, hunters, administrators and farmers in our region starts precisely from this last figure. And lastly, hikers: because among the supporters of culling there are also those who fear that an excessive presence of these predators in our woods could sooner or later lead to some encounter with tragic consequences. These numbers – according to the breeders – would even be underestimated. The proof would be linked to the fact that the herds no longer find space in the woods and natural areas and now habitually wander around cultivated fields and even on the outskirts of towns and cities, not disdaining in some cases to go and look for food right inside the courtyards. .
Species to hunt or protect?
The issue, which literally divides not only public opinion but also experts, is linked to the question of whether or not to allow culling. Environmentalists, who argue that the wolf is a protected species, indispensable for maintaining the ecological balance of our natural environment and keeping the population of wild boars and roe deer under control, are countered by breeders and hunters. The latter ask for targeted measures and abatement plans, as the wolf, increasingly numerous everywhere, can no longer be considered a species in danger of extinction and therefore the “protection” it has enjoyed up to now must be taken away . A line, the latter, espoused by the regional councilor Fabio Carosso. His model? Neighboring France, which is dealing with the same problem, has decided to solve it by leaving hunters a free hand to reduce the wolf population. The proposal – widely contested by environmentalists and many experts – is to approve a containment plan for the species starting as early as the summer. The meetings and working groups held in recent months with the Ministry of the Environment in Rome have been dedicated precisely to this theme. In short, the climate is increasingly tense, and among the farmers in our area there are those who do not intend to be patient any longer and say they are ready to take to the streets if containment measures are not adopted as quickly as possible.
The greatest concentration of packs in the provinces of Cuneo and Turin, but the debate remains heated…
The return of the large predators
«The real question is another – philosophizes Franco Tassi, one of the most authoritative Italian experts on wolves -. Today man is no longer used to living with large predators. Yet, especially in Piedmont, the abandonment of the mountains and high hill areas by man in recent decades has favored the return of these animals, which are only dangerous if we do not learn to manage them.” If everyone knows the wolf, not many are aware that there are several other large predators that are becoming more and more numerous in our territory. Bears from Switzerland are appearing in northern Piedmont. The lynx has already been spotted and photographed in various Piedmont areas. And even the golden jackal, a canid similar to the wolf, is now a common and rapidly expanding presence in the plains.
Returning to our wolf, the estimate is that at least seventy packs live in Piedmont today, as well as numerous isolated individuals, and the greatest concentration would be precisely in the provinces of Cuneo and Turin. But even among those who oppose the culling there are those who prophesy hard times: without more wolves – is the sentence – the populations of roe deer, and above all of wild boars, will multiply even more, and the consequences for the agricultural and rural world will be even more worse…
