Judge’s Ruling on Deer Shooting Incident Sparks Debate and Mixed Reactions
A controversial ruling. The decision by judge Dario Bertazzolo to impose a sentence and three fines for the incident involving the deer shot in March 1997 in Castello has sparked various comments and differing emotional reactions. Overall, there is a sense of satisfaction that after three years, a final judgment has been reached, although harsher penalties were anticipated or hoped for.
The case and legal consequences
The case, which gained national media attention (even “Striscia la Notizia” covered it by sending Valerio Staffelli to Brenzone), and became the subject of a parliamentary question signed by 25 deputies of the Lega Nord, led by Umberto Chincarini, concluded with fines of two and a half million lire for surveyor Luigi Giramenti, member of the Monte Baldo hunting district, farmer Marco Veronesi, and Anselmo Furlani, local zone wildlife officer.
The colleague Renzo Facchini, who renounced the fine to stand trial, was instead sentenced to a fine of three million lire, plus compensation to Wwfe and Lipu.
Reactions and comments on the incident
Disappointed with this outcome is Linda Formaggioni, one of the citizens who gathered at the site of the brutal deer killing, initially shot with a pellet and then killed with panettone-like shots. A cruel end for the poor “Bambi”, a friend to children, carried out in the rainy hours from Silvano Donatini’s residence, near the parish church.
“The perpetrators of that heinous act, besides shooting an innocent animal that had been peacefully roaming for some time without causing trouble, acted in the city center, endangering children’s safety. It seems to me, in short, that the four got off cheaply,” claims Formaggioni.
Her husband was even more direct: “Everyone knows how things went down, and in the end, the guilty received a sentence that is far too lenient.”
Opinions of experts and authorities
More measured, though no less stern, is the opinion of Francesco Gaietti, a hunter from Assenza. “It was an unfortunate incident, possibly exaggerated by the press. I do not doubt that the deer could have posed a danger if it had gone onto the road. However, different measures could have been taken. It was enough to capture it.”
“What surprises me is to see, despite the seriousness of the act, Luigi Giramenti still heading the Monte Baldo mountain hunting district. Is it possible that the authorities of the Federazione Caccia have taken no action? The fines will certainly not bring the deer back to life,” concludes Gaietti.
From this whole incident, the image of the hunter emerges tarnished, explains Alessandro Salvelli, president of the Provincial Hunter Federation. “As I said then, intervention through animal capture could and should have been carried out.”
“I do not wish to comment on the court’s decisions,” states deputy Umberto Chincarini. “The positive aspect is that a final judgment has been reached, which bodes well for other environmental abuses that have occurred around Garda,” concludes Joppi.