2024-07-19 21:04:33
TERM. The alarm was raised on Wednesday morning by a farmer who was driving his tractor through his property in Termeno. The farmer noticed some people fleeing on board a car. He then informed the game warden of Termeno, who forwarded the report to the forestry station of Caldaro. Some officers went to the site and found some dying thrushes. “We found among the rows of apple orchards three unauthorized bird nets, 25 meters long and 4 meters high: 21 young specimens of this species were entangled inside them. Six of them survived, while for the others, unfortunately, there was nothing more that could be done”, explains Daniel Pedrottihead of the Caldaro Forestry Station.
Two thrushes were immediately released on site, while the other specimens were transported to the Veterinary clinic of Bolzano for the necessary care, ready, in the next few days, to be released. At the moment the authors of the cruel act have not been identified. The indiscriminate capture of specimens of birds constitutes the crime of animal cruelty, regulated by article 544-ter of the Penal Code according to which, “Whoever, through cruelty or without necessity, causes an injury to an animal or subjects it to torture or to behaviors or to fatigue or to work that is unbearable due to its ethological characteristics is punished with imprisonment from three to eighteen months or a fine from 5,000 to 30,000 euros“. “The hunting of thrushes is particularly widespread in Northern Italy. The young animals caught here are now lured into nets with bait and released as quickly as possible, to then be raised as decoys for bird hunting in the autumn,” explains Pedrotti.
In Germany, for example, there are two types of illegal bird hunting: egg hunting and nest hunting. “We take a clear stand against cruel and illegal forms of hunting. The employees of the Provincial Forestry Corps are public officials and provide specific prevention services to combat the phenomenon,” he says. Luis Walcherprovincial councilor for Agriculture and Forestry.
Anyone who notices suspicious movements or bird-catching nets in the orchards is invited to call the provincial emergency number 112. Every report is precious and allows the Provincial Forestry Corps to capture the culprits and save the lives of these specimens.
2024-07-19 21:04:33