This evening, a week begins in the Agriculture Committee of the Chamber that could prove decisive for the future of the hunting law in Italy. In fact, the hearings are starting on the controversial bill that modifies law 157 of 1992 on the protection of wild fauna and hunting activities, already approved by the Senate and now being examined by Montecitorio.
Some of the country’s main environmental and scientific organizations will be heard: Lipu, Legambiente, WWF, Enpa, Lac, Oipa, the Italian Society of Ethology and the Italian Center for Ornithological Studies. A particularly awaited step after weeks of strong protests from the environmentalist world, which continues to denounce the possible effects of the measure on biodiversity and the protection of wild species.
In the meantime, pressure is growing so that the text of the “shooter” law is not examined exclusively by the Agriculture Commission. As many as 57 associations – including Lav, Leal, Legambiente, Lipu BirdLife Italia, Wwf Italia, Enpa, Greenpeace, Oipa, Lndc Animal Protection and Gaia Animali & Ambiente – have formally asked the President of the Chamber Lorenzo Fontana to also involve the Environment Commission in examining the measure. According to the organisations, in fact, the reform does not only concern hunting activity, but intervenes directly on issues such as biodiversity, ecosystems and fauna protection, matters which fully fall within environmental competences.
More hunting, less protection
The alarm of the associations is mainly focused on the merits of the measure: according to environmentalists, animal rights activists and the scientific world, the bill represents one of the heaviest setbacks in the protection of wild fauna in recent decades. Among the contested measures are the easing of bans in protected areas, the expansion of hunting opportunities and a general reduction of guarantees in favor of wild species.
In essence, the associations denounce, if the reform were to become law, the opportunities and places where it will be possible to take up a rifle would increase, with the risk of transforming even territories currently considered refuges for biodiversity into areas exposed to hunting pressure. A prospect which, according to critics of the text, would end up further jeopardizing already fragile ecosystems and species increasingly threatened by the climate crisis and habitat loss.
We talk about it here: Ibex, wild geese and pigeons in the crosshairs: green light for the controversial reform of the hunting law
Stop before approving rules that risk irreversibly weakening the protection system built over thirty years – say the WWF. Stop and listen to the scientific community, the bodies involved in conservation, the associations, the citizens who are asking for greater protection of biodiversity and not its decline. Stop because Italian nature has no voice in this Chamber. Today that voice must be us.
The request also arises from an element that is taking on ever greater weight in the political debate: the attention of the European Commission. According to the documentation referred to by parliamentarians and associations, on 18 December 2025 the Directorate General for the Environment of the European Commission sent a letter to the Ministry of the Environment requesting clarifications on various provisions contained in the text of the reform, considered potentially in conflict with the European “Birds” and “Habitats” directives. Brussels’ observations would also recall previous infringement procedures and EU Pilot cases already opened against Italy regarding the protection of fauna and natural habitats.
Precisely for this reason, MP Filippo Scerra asked the Chamber to urgently acquire all the documentation relating to the exchanges between the Italian Government and the European Commission, arguing that without these elements it would be impossible to carry out a complete evaluation of the bill. The request highlights how Brussels has raised doubts about the compatibility of some rules with European legislation on nature conservation.
Even on the hearings front, the requests from civil society are numerous: among the proposals put forward in recent days included listening to dozens of environmental, animal rights, scientific and technical associations, as well as ISPRA, the Ministry of the Environment and even the Directorate General for the Environment of the European Commission. The game, therefore, remains very open: on the one hand the Government and the majority support the need to update legislation dating back over thirty years, on the other, associations, researchers and oppositions fear that the changes could weaken the protections provided for wildlife, biodiversity and ecosystems.
The hearings that begin today represent the first real test in the Chamber and much more than a simple parliamentary step. At stake is not just a change in the law on hunting, but the very idea of what relationship we want to have with wildlife and the country’s natural heritage.
The hope of those who oppose the measure is that the parliamentary discussion and the comments also coming from Europe will lead to a profound rethinking of the text. Because when it comes to nature, legislative errors risk leaving consequences that last much longer than one legislature.
