Italian Court Upholds Ethical Hunting Bans

Why this is here: The court determined that regions cannot automatically deny requests to ban hunting based on the 30% protected land threshold, but must instead assess each case individually.

A court in Abruzzo, Italy, ruled that landowners can prohibit hunting on their property based on ethical objections. The Regional Administrative Court of Pescara determined that moral opposition to hunting is a valid reason to request a hunting ban on private land. Regional authorities can no longer deny these requests without specific justification related to wildlife management plans.

The decision follows five years of appeals from a woman in Abruzzo who successfully argued for her right to keep hunters off her land. The court clarified that the 30% threshold for protected land is a minimum, not a strict limit, and regions must evaluate each request individually. This shifts the burden of proof to regional authorities, requiring them to demonstrate how excluding an area would impact wildlife plans.

The ruling builds on a 1942 civil code article that historically favored hunting rights over private property rights, and a similar ruling from the Council of State. While the code itself remains unchanged and does not guarantee an absolute right to exclude hunting, the court’s decision compels administrations to consider ethical motivations. The work of clarifying these rights and assessing individual cases continues.