Editorial

Another year comes to a close and offers a chance to reflect on twelve months of effort by our colleagues in Italy.

Our support has followed a well trodden path, but it would be wrong to see that as an admission of failure. We in the British section have helped fund the anti-poaching camps and patrols at both ends of the country and these have been successful to varying extents. Trapping of thrushes in Sardinia is declining noticeably and the shooting of raptors at the Messina Strait is a very pale shadow of what it was just two decades ago. The camps continue to ensure that these illegal practices don’t have a chance to flare up again and this suppression work may have to continue for some time to come.

However, the highlight of the year must be the change in Italian law brought about by unremitting pressure from LIPU and other NGOs applied both in Rome and in Brussels. There should no longer be any loopholes, no “grey areas”, no derogations to any of the Regions – no excuses, the trapping of wild birds to use as decoys is against the law. It is as clear as that.

Buon lavoro, LIPU  – Well Done!

Contents

• ISPRA and Italian nature
• LIFE-TIB – a wildlife corridor
• Biofuels  – a U-turn

 

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