Environmentalists take Italian regions to court over early hunting seasons

As Italy's hunting season draws near, a legal confrontation is building between environmental and animal rights organisations and several regional governments over the dates and species permitted on hunting calendars, according to The Local Italy.

The groups argue that some regions are scheduling an early opening that violates European Union directives on the protection of wild birds and other species, and they are now turning to the courts to block the calendars before the season begins.

The dispute pits regional autonomy over hunting regulation against the constraints of EU environmental law, a tension that has recurred across Italy for years and is now being tested again in the courts.