In Ginostra, on the western side of Stromboli, the coexistence between inhabitants and wild goats had become problematic with two thousand animals against just forty residents. The animals, descendants of specimens introduced for breeding, had invaded houses, vegetable gardens and beaches after fires and floods creating different damage.
Now the situation has unlocked, but not in the world in which we hoped. The wild goats of the Aeolian Islands have in fact been transferred by Alicudi and Stromboli without their real destination being known. According to local sources, the animals were loaded on vehicles directed to a private trader, but it would only be an intermediate stage, without any clarity on the final destination.
All this – as the Lav denounces – raises strong doubts, above all because no official derogation from the Sicilian Region is not granted for their movement. The arrest and transfer operations would also take place without identification or health checks, compulsory procedures provided for by the legislation. If such information is confirmed, we would find ourselves in front of a very serious violation, which puts animal health at risk and opens scenarios of commercial exploitation.
The requests of associations
The LNDC Animal Protection and Life by Odv life associations, together with the network of free animals sanctuaries, sent a letter to the institutions asking for immediate transparency. The request is that the goats are formally classified as non -DPA animals (not intended for food production), to avoid the danger of ending up in the slaughter circuit.
At the same time, a application for access to the documents was submitted to check protocols, authorizations, destinations and capture methods. Only through official documents will it be possible to clarify whether these operations have respected the law or if it is opaque and potentially illegitimate management.
A heritage to be protected
Alicudi and Stromboli goats cannot be considered as simple trade animals: as wildlife, they constitute an unavailable heritage of the state. Their forced removal, if intended for private interests, would represent a serious contradiction with the principles of environmental protection and with current regulations.
The ethologists involved in monitoring have underlined how the population of goats tend to self -regulate naturally, without the need for traumatic interventions. Any containment should pass through targeted sterilization plans, accompanied by raising awareness paths for the local population, and not with sudden catches and transfers without guarantees.
Ethological critical issues
From the first analyzes based on photos and videos, inadequate conditions of detention of animals also emerge during the previous phase to transport. Lack of adequate spaces, absence of respect for ethological needs and poor attention to the well -being of the specimens have been highlighted by technicians as worrying elements.
The associations reiterate the need to receive official responses from the institutions. Otherwise, they are ready to take new legal and public denunciation actions, to guarantee full protection of the goats of the Aeolian Islands.
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