Italian animal rights groups expressed outrage on Wednesday after Italian lawmakers approved a plan to allow hunting in urban areas. This measure is intended to contain the wild boars roaming in cities like Rome. Parliament’s Budget Committee has given the green light to an amendment proposed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Fratelli d’Italia party to the 2023 budget, which will be put to a vote before the end of the year.
This amendment allows the culling of wild animals in order to protect motor traffic in protected areas, including cities, according to media reports. The Fratelli d’Italia party specifies that it is not a question of hunting but of “control”, and affirms that wild boars wandering in public spaces are dangerous for citizens and motorists, in addition to the risk of spreading the virus. swine fever.
“A new season of massacres”
Estimates put the number of wild boars in the country at two million. “The only way to contain their expansion is culling,” said Marta Farolfi, MP for the far-right party.
Animal rights groups say the move could endanger protected species such as wolves. “This outrageous approval inaugurates a new season of massacres,” said Massimo Vitturi, of the LAV association for animal rights. The Italian International Organization for the Protection of Animals (OIPA) estimated that it could pave the way for “indiscriminate killings of wild animals”.