Brescia, "Pettirosso 2021" operation: 139 poachers reported and one arrested

Brescia, the anti-poaching operation of the Forestry Carabinieri has recently ended
called “Robin”, coordinated by the Operations Department – ​​SOARDA (Operations Section
Anti-poaching and Animal Crimes) of the CITES Carabinieri Group in synergy with the
Forestry Carabinieri groups of Brescia, Bergamo and Mantua and the contribution of a canine unit trained in
search for weapons, ammunition, capture tools, acoustic calls, wildlife.

The Lombard-Veneto pre-Alps, due to their geographical position, are a fundamental hub along the routes
migratory patterns of small passerines, which move from the breeding areas of northern Europe
towards those of “wintering” of the Mediterranean basin and the African continent, constituting a
inestimable wealth in terms of biodiversity. An impressive concentration of birds exhausted by the
long distances traveled are particularly vulnerable, particularly on mountain passes which constitute a "bottleneck" for migration, becoming the object of intense poaching, with serious repercussions on ecological systems.

It is protected species and particularly protected by national laws and international conventions as they are highly threatened. To defend the migratory flow, patrols of the Forestry Carabinieri carried out a widespread control of the Brescia, Bergamo and Mantua areas. The operational activity carried out led to the reporting of 139 people for crimes perpetrated against wild birds, no. 1 arrest for possession of an illegal weapon and the seizure of 3336 birds, of which 884 live specimens and 2452 dead specimens, including numerous non-huntable species and particularly protected species, all captured or killed illegally. Furthermore, 673 illegal capture devices, 99 rifles and 5294 ammunition were seized.

Most of the seizures were carried out in the province of Brescia as a result of the numerous hunting controls carried out by the stations of the local Carabinieri Forestry Group. The main crimes that have been hypothesized are: aggravated theft of wildlife as an unavailable asset of the State, receiving stolen goods, counterfeiting of public seals, abusive use of seals intended for public authentication, mistreatment and killing of animals, unauthorized possession of protected species and particularly protected, fowling, hunting with prohibited means, illegal carrying of weapons. Among the illegal tools used by poachers we find electromagnetic acoustic decoys, fowling nets, trap cages or, in the worst cases, bows and metal traps capable of inflicting serious suffering on fauna left alive and dying for hours.

Various interventions were carried out during the services. In particular in the province of Mantua, a father and son were caught carrying out hunting activities with the use of acoustic decoys operating
electromagnetic, killing specimens of particularly protected avifauna. Over 500 frozen and plucked specimens of avifauna belonging to particularly protected species, live larks with counterfeit identification rings and 2380 ammunition were found in the house.

In the province of Brescia, an arrest was made for possession of a clandestine weapon, handcrafted and found by the "Africa" ​​dog unit; No. seizures were made. 800 cartridges, the material needed to assemble clandestine weapons and dozens of specimens of avifauna illegally killed. Numerous checks were carried out at the restaurants, in two of which over 300 specimens of avifauna were found, some being cooked and others plucked and frozen, without the appropriate requirements to establish their traceability. In these areas the avifauna is used in some typical dishes such as "polenta e osei" and "spied". During a check carried out by the NAS Carabinieri at a
specimens of avifauna used as live decoys were found in the butcher's shop; Carabinieri checks
Forest officials highlighted over 50 birds with counterfeit identification rings and the abusive use of public seals.

In the province of Bergamo, a person held 25 specimens of avifauna in a bird store
particularly protected and 216 specimens of huntable avifauna with identification rings affixed to their paws
counterfeit. Approximately 80% of the live specimens seized had rings that had been visibly tampered with: filed, flared and deformed in section and even removable. The data highlights the placing on the market of specimens
caught in the wild and ringed illegally before being sold or used as “live decoys”.
In this regard, it is specified that each bird specimen must be equipped with an immovable cylindrical metal ring to be kept.

The multiple checks have highlighted how the "Lombardy-Venetian Prealps" continue to be an area strongly affected by the phenomenon of poaching, confirming itself as the most challenging of the black-spots identified by the "National Action Plan to combat crimes against wild birds", despite the virtuosity of numerous hunters who respect the regulations in force.
The Forestry Carabinieri operated with the active contribution of volunteers from CABS, LIPU, Legambiente,
WWF, LAC, NOGEZ and Fare Ambiente, citizens and hunters.

The seized specimens were entrusted to wild animal recovery centers (CRAS) “Il Pettirosso” of Modena and the “WWF Valpredina Oasis” of Bergamo for subsequent release into nature as soon as their physiological conditions allow it.

Previous 1 di 3 The next