ENPA’s alarm emerged after recent declarations by Italian Agriculture, Minister Francesco Lollobrígida, who pointed out that “some species were on the verge of extinction 30 years ago, but currently wolves are overabundant,” states a communiqué published by Il Corriere Nazionale this Monday.
Lollobrígida said, “we must face the problem with pragmatism and without ideologies, which have made virtuous activities such as cattle raising and agriculture impossible” according to ENAP, “the census conducted by the Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) shows a different situation” from the one described by the said official.
As reported in a data obtained by ISPRA, between October 2021 and April 2022, Italy’s wolf population is estimated to reach 3,350 specimens, about 950 of which are found in the Alpine regions, and 2,400 others live in the rest of the country.
Wolves cover an area of some 150,100 square kilometers, 41,600 of which are located in the Italian Alps, and 108,500 are in other peninsular regions, a figure equivalent to a little more than 50.0 percent of the national territory.
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