In the Vicenza area there are about 80 wolves, 7 confirmed packs, she-wolves that could soon give birth to up to 6/7 cubs each. These are the numbers that emerged on Tuesday morning, July 2, from the meeting convened by the prefect of Vicenza Salvatore Caccamo and the president of the Province Andrea Nardin supported by the delegated councilor Mattia Veronese, who called together at Palazzo Nievo the Veneto Region, the Aulss 8 Berica and 7 Pedemontana, the Mountain Unions of the Vicenza area, the local police forces, the Anti-Vivisection League and above all the mayors of the 40 Municipalities where wolf predation has occurred in recent years.
On the agenda are the problems connected to the presence of the wolf in the Vicenza area, which can be summarized with other numbers: 27 predations on farm animals in the first 6 months of 2023, 60 in the same period of 2024. More than double.
What the numbers don’t say has been insistently underlined by the mayors: the wolf is getting used to feeding on farm animals or even domestic animals, pets, easier prey than wild animals. If it is not “educated” to stay away from farms and inhabited areas, it will get closer and closer, without any fear of protections, fences, deterrents. “We need decisive measures” was the request “otherwise we risk abandoning the mountains and the mountain huts, with consequences not only on the economy, on tourism, on biodiversity and, above all, on the hydrogeological stability of the territory”.
“A fruitful meeting – prefect Caccamo defined it – which brought together local realities, even with different sensitivities, and allowed us to address the problems related to the presence of the wolf in the Vicenza area with the support of numbers. Ideas and suggestions emerged, in particular from those who experience the problem of predation first hand. Now it is necessary to summarize, with a report that I will take care to share with the Veneto Region, which has proven to be extremely attentive and available, and with the competent Ministers, for a solution that must reconcile the needs of the owners of livestock farms and environmental balance. The phenomenon will be constantly monitored in particular to verify whether episodes of predation are recorded that tend to increase in anthropized areas and in the presence of man”
“The presence this morning of 40 mayors and many representatives of the territory, especially of the mountains, is significant of how much the presence of the wolf causes concern in the Vicenza area – stated President Nardin -. Predations are clearly increasing and clearly mean a change in the wolf’s habits, which is getting closer and closer to homes and inhabited places, it is not afraid, even overcoming the obstacles with which we try to secure not only farm animals but also domestic animals, dogs and cats. An intervention is in my opinion necessary and can no longer be postponed. But be careful not to invest money in tools that have already proven insufficient”.
