Use of European Funds and Ex Post Evaluation of Prevention Measures against Wolf Attacks (Canis lupus italicus) in the Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy)

• Published in: Animals
• Main Authors: Berzi, Duccio, Cerri, Jacopo, Musto, Carmela, Zanni, Maria Luisa
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI 2021
• Subjects: Communication; Canis lupus
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8225206/; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34070307; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11061536

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Starting in 2014 in a region in Northern Italy, Emilia-Romagna, a specific pilot project was financed through regional budget resources, aimed at spreading wolf damages’ prevention measures, accompanied by a technical assistance program for the breeders requesting it. In particular, standardized types of intervention were defined, inspections were organized of the damaged companies, and technical assistance was structured. Ex post, the effectiveness of the interventions and the degree of satisfaction were assessed. The pilot project financed with regional budget funds was then accompanied by a call from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and subsequent interventions were financed with other regional budget funds. This contribution analyzes the difficulties encountered in using the various prevention tools, the effectiveness of the operation of the mitigation measures, and the degree of user satisfaction. ABSTRACT: Introduction: Compensation programs are an important tool for mitigating conflicts between farmers and large predators. However, they present significant weaknesses and faults. For years, the EU has been prioritizing programs for the prevention of damage caused by large carnivores, rather than compensation programs, introducing compulsory compensation for the purposes of decision EC (2019) 772 of 29/01/19. This manuscript reports the experience with the wolf damage prevention programs in an Italian region, Emilia-Romagna, which implemented a pilot project, adopting a new method to interface with the farmers involved in the prevention programs. Methods: Starting in 2014, a project aimed at spreading prevention measures was financed through regional and European resources, accompanied by resources sharing and technical assistance with breeders from the regional body. In detail, (i) standardized types of intervention were defined and technical assistance was structured; (ii) ex post, the effectiveness of the interventions carried out was assessed; and (iii) the ...