A plan to allow hunters to take wild animals in Italy’s cities has caused an uproar, and not just among animal rights groups. The plan, inserted in the 2023 budget by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party would allow the hunt in protected areas on grounds of road safety.
The wild boars that have, over the past few years, wandered in from the countryside to feast on Rome’s notoriously uncollected garbage, as well as those that roam the countryside, now number an estimated two million, a number that is increasing rapidly.
The proposal would also allow boars that have been killed and pass sanitation tests to be eaten.
Agricultural interests have sounded the alarm for some time, saying that their numbers in the countryside have led to widespread crop destruction as well as serious road accidents. Animal rights groups, on the other hand, accuse the government of wanting to sanction ‘indiscriminate killing of wildlife.
More commonly, opposition has come from people concerned about safety for people in cities if hunting is allowed. One person told a newspaper that “Herds of armed citizens chasing wild boar through the streets of the capital isn’t exactly what I imagine when I think of the protection of health and public order.”
