Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you.
Posted on 05/14/2025 11:17:26 AM PDT by nickcarraway
It’s official — the deer of Abruzzo can breathe a little easier. A controversial plan to cull nearly 500 of them, including over 140 fawns, has been scrapped, and animal rights groups are celebrating what they see as a hard-won victory.
The story began last August, when the Abruzzo Regional Council approved a resolution authorising the killing of 469 deer as part of population control efforts. The plan sparked outrage among environmental and animal welfare associations, who took the matter to court.
Despite an initial setback — with the regional administrative court (TAR Abruzzo) refusing to suspend the measure — the campaigners didn’t back down. They quickly appealed to the Council of State, Italy’s highest administrative court, which overturned the earlier ruling and sent the case back for a new hearing.
Most Read on Euro Weekly News
Dark shadows: Pope Leo XIV accused of sexual abuse cover-ups
How Italy’s deer outsmarted the hunters — and the law
Second Italian journalist allegedly spied on with mercenary spyware But time turned out to be the deer’s greatest ally. As the legal wrangling played out, the hunting season quietly came to an end in March. And with that, the resolution expired before a single shot was fired.
At today’s long-awaited hearing, the TAR officially closed the case, stating there was no longer a legal issue to resolve since the resolution was no longer valid. For Michele Pezone, the lawyer representing the associations, the outcome is clear: “The deer weren’t culled. That’s the key point — and for us, that’s a win.”
Speaking after the hearing, Pezone explained how they had themselves asked the court to acknowledge the case was now moot, but insisted that the legal fight had not been in vain. “This is exactly what we anticipated months ago when the hearing was scheduled. Still, our efforts paid off: the deer are safe.”
Regular visitor to the town
In the forests surrounding the Italian town of Civitella Alfedena, located in the province of L’Aquila in the Abruzzo region, a significant population of deer roams freely. Their presence occasionally attracts natural predators such as wolves and bears. In fact, one of the town’s streets is home to a wolf interpretation centre.
Stags with impressive antlers have become regular visitors to the town. On many occasions, their presence has provided spectacular sights — proud males crowned with majestic trophies calmly strolling through the streets.
Tourism companies offering trips to the Abruzzo region in central Italy often use the town’s urban deer population as a key attraction to draw in visitors. The animals have taken refuge in the streets to escape growing pressure from predators like bears and wolves, and due to the scarcity of food in the mountains, particularly during the summer and winter months.
Hunting referendum
The debate over hunting in Italy tends to resurface regularly in public discourse, and recently it has gained renewed attention following a proposal for a new national referendum on the practice.
Hunting, when carried out under strict regulations, is not only a traditional activity but also considered an essential tool for sustainable wildlife management and for maintaining the balance of natural ecosystems.
In 2024, a petition was launched to call for a referendum aimed at abolishing hunting in Italy altogether. According to official data available on the Justice platform of the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan), the initiative sparked a certain degree of public interest, but so far it has not gathered enough signatures to meet the required threshold.
The number of signatures collected remains below the level needed to trigger an effective referendum. These figures highlight that, despite the activism of some animal rights groups, a large part of the Italian population does not support a total ban on hunting.
These results suggest the need for a deeper reflection on why hunting continues to be practised and regulated in Italy today.
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you.
Let nature take its course and see how the animal rights groups like it.
Conservation is called that for a reason.
Yep, let the deer die of starvation and disease. Much better than shooting them with icky old guns.
All well and good until all the native vegetation is consumed by the deer and they browse as high as they can stretch when hopping up to browse the trees, too.
If they are coming into town they’in devour the gardens and even potted ornamental plants.
All the smaller animals have nothing to eat within reach... ground nesting birds will have no cover.
Emotional people have no common sense.
If there are too many deer let every hunter tag an extra one this year, or let them raffle off extra tags for conservation.
Do the deer in Abruzzo have wooden heads like the people? (Local joke)
It's Whittaker Chambers' fault. If he had not translated Felix Salten's novel from the German, Walt Disney wouldn't have made the move Bambi and people wouldn't be so opposed to killing deer.
Think of all the starving children in Africa who could be fed venison...
Wait for the disease they bring and celebrate them dying.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.