10,300 wild animals were rescued over the course of 2020 by the National Animal Protection Authority (Enpa) , of which 1,024 belonging to particularly protected species and 2,169 to species of community interest.

Animals that had been victims of road accidents (14.2%), traumatic impacts with windows, electric cables or other man-made obstacles (11.6%), gunshots ( 5.6%), poaching ( 4.3%). More than one in five was a pullo or a young specimen in distress.

How can we interpret this data? Are we Italians sufficiently sensitive and attentive to the protection of animals? Can we count on a regulatory system that is up to the task? We asked the president of Enpa directly, Carla Rocchi .

What is your key to understanding the data on your activities in 2020?

The situation is understandable from this point of view: from a regulatory point of view, fauna is an unavailable heritage of the state . The state, through the administrations, should be able to help animals in need. This is theory. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t. 

In the past there were the provinces that had this scientific competence . Now, with this limbo in which the provinces are and are not there, much of the work has come on our shoulders. We have Cras (Wild Animal Recovery Center) in Trieste, Liguria, Umbria, etc. Through these aids in the area, when there is an animal that needs help and care, we do it. We do what the law prescribes, with great care.

Going therefore to fill this void …

It is a real void, because in certain places there are agreements , and we are not the only ones with whom local authorities make agreements. Sometimes there is this service, sometimes there isn’t really. The South is problematic in this respect. Either we do it, or nobody does it.

You recently asked for a meeting with Prime Minister Draghi and Minister for Ecological Transition Cingolani. What are the most important and urgent issues that you want to submit to the institutions?

Basically one. When we talk about the Ministry of the Environment or the care of the environment, we always talk about the container but not about the content . I’ll explain. We are asking for a corrective in the Constitution because the Constitution today says that the state protects the landscape . Apart from the fact that the landscape is an ancient term, which refers us to a painting of the fifteenth century, it is a scene in which there are living actors: us, the animals, the plants. Up to now there has been little attention paid to the animal part in the “environment” container. 

Furthermore, there is a need for attention to the risks posed by intensive farming which are at the same time potential foci of infection and also the major factor of pollution.

The fact that the pandemic has exploded and continues to have its maximum critical points in the Po Valley speaks volumes. It is the combination of bad air conditions that also derive from the largest Italian concentration of farms . Emilia-Romagna is a well-administered region, so we cannot say that there is no attention. But why is there this continuous Lombardy-Emilia Romagna tandem ? The unifying factor is the farms.

This is why we ask for attention . Saying “we care for the environment” doesn’t just mean riding a bicycle, it also means tight control over animal production, a cultural change in consumption at the table… We are asking for a change of pace.

In recent years, the topic of animal health and protection has gained more and more space in the media. In your opinion, have there been any progress in cultural terms?

Absolutely yes, in my opinion even in cultural terms they happened even before in terms of communication. People have begun to realize, some for health reasons and some for health reasons coupled with a compassion for animals, that this is not the right way to be in the world , to feed and so on. Then the targeted investigations came out , like the raids we saw on television in the places where the animals are. All of this taken together made the news, took notice of the change and promoted change at the same time.

In your communiqué you state that we need a great communication campaign on wild animals. For what reason?

In the meantime, it is necessary to make it known that this reality exists, that there is no need for an aggressive attitude on the part of the population . In Rome last year the administration made it possible to kill a mother boar with wild boars, which is absolutely shameful and unnecessary. We immediately welcomed another wild boar and brought it to our Cras. The theme is not the specific case, but that we can relate to the wild in a respectful and protective way . The only reaction is not to take the shot and shoot.

I give an example. When we say “wolves attack the flocks” … wolves do their job! But wolves are also an important part of the food chain . Those who want the containment of wild boars do not do a great deal by removing the wolves from the territory. Breeders need to be aware of how to keep a wolf away from the flock.

Coming to more urban things, what to do if you find a bird on the ground? It seems like a detail thing, but it is everyday life. What do we do: do we collect it? Do we not collect it? Will there be parents who come to pick him up? There is a whole series of information that must be known and should also be known by those who administer us. We do it, but the institutional part is missing .