Exasperated by the unjustified continuation of the stalemate, having reported the age-old affair of the ungulates, the President Coldiretti Asti Monica Monticone and the Director Giovanni Rosso handed over, on Wednesday 19 June, Claudio Ventrice and the Vice Prefect Vicario Enrica to the Prefect of Asti Montagna, a letter to inform him about upcoming protest initiatives.
More precisely, the text summarizes all the concern regarding a serious and growing problem which is increasingly assuming proportions of no return, ergo, of economic damage, not only for agriculture, but also in terms of threat to health and safety of citizens.
“The presence of ungulates, in particular wild boars in our territory, has been out of control for too many years” Monticone and Rosso write and explain. “We can talk about a real invasion (over 2.3 million animals at a national level) which, in fact, represents a real danger for people’s safety and a dramatic economic blow in the agricultural sector”.
“Devastated fields, decimated crops, car accidents, sometimes even fatal, and sieges in the countryside, as well as in urbanized areas, represent examples which, from week to week, multiply before everyone’s eyes” Monticone remarks. “The count of damage to agricultural production generates, every year, a loss in income terms of significant proportions, with huge resources taken away from companies; all of this contributes significantly to fueling tensions and frustrations. We are talking about a sort of “duty” that agriculture can no longer afford to suffer and tolerate”.
In Piedmont the situation has become even more serious and worrying due to African Swine Fever. Since January 6, 2022, the restriction areas have constantly expanded to currently involve five provinces with the simultaneous and progressive increase in the number of infected wild boars. A condition that is putting the production continuity of one of the most important supply chains of the Piedmontese agricultural business fabric at risk. It is therefore essential to effectively implement the measures defined by the Extraordinary Commissioner.
“With respect to hunting activities, in fact, it is necessary to extend the possibility of carrying out selective hunting to the night hours” adds the President.
“At the same time, it is extremely necessary that the containment actions are further strengthened, in their concrete implementation, through the adoption of uniform methods and including the entire territory, therefore, also the protected areas, the urban areas, the days of hunting silence and the periods of prohibition provided for by law”.
“For all these reasons” continues Rosso, “as Coldiretti Asti we have also started a mobilization phase, aimed at obtaining listening, regulatory interventions and concrete actions that are at least immediate, to protect farmers, citizens and consumers. That wild boars represent a serious problem, not only for farmers, but for all citizens, is an irrefutable assumption that must urgently be addressed, managed and resolved. Enough words, promises and intentions. Now we need tangible facts and concrete actions. We are, therefore, ready to carry out all-out protest initiatives, with respect to which no one will be able to feel excused, including provincial administrations and regional councils”.
