Hi everybody, As some of you has asked about hunting and bowhunting in Italy, I’ll give you a short panorama of what hunting is in Italy. The hunting in Italy is regulated by a law (Legge 157/92) that explain what you can and what you can’t do while hunting. So, to be able to hunt in Italy, you must be 18 or older and be in posses of a hunting license. This license is issued by the police department of your province after attending a course of about 3 months and have passed a written and oral exam on the behavior, habits, species and breeds of animals, the laws governing hunting and notions on knowledge of first aid and weapons. You must demonstrate the ability to handle a weapon, and have the physical fitness and mental attitude (medical examinations). After that you are assigned to an area (ATC or CA) to hunt in your province close to your town. However you may have up to three ATC but not in the same province. If you choose the specialization of hunting in the Alps territory you can have only one CA and restrictions on number and breeds of animal. At this point you can hunt small game such as hares, rabbits, pheasants, ducks, quails and other birds and foxes, all in limited numbers for three days a week. The period of hunting small game is from the third Sunday of September to 31 December, for migratory game period is extended to 31 January. you can hunt with a shotgun with max 3 shells and 12 gauge, bow or falconry. For the big game, is needed an additional qualification that enables for the “selection hunting” something like a game management and control license. You can get the qualification for one of each species, or one qualification that includes all the huntable species. Also in this case you have to attend courses and take written and oral examinations on behavior, anatomy, feeding and life cycles of animals and hunting, control and census methods, plus a practical rifle shooting at 200 meters (4/5). The course for all the big game is about 72 to 76 hours, some in classroom and some on the field. Big games can’t be taken with rifle with gauge less then 5.6 mm and 40 mm of empty shell (.22 is not allowed). The big game that can be hunted are the deer, roe deer, fallow deer, mouflon, chamois and wild boar. The wild boar can also be hunted with methods of collective hunting, also for this you need a further qualification, course, written and oral examination and practical slug shooting on wild hog silhouette on the move (3/5 on vital area). Bowhunting big game is not allowed in some regions. In some cases qualifications for big games that are obtained in a region are not valid in others. Those are the national hunting rules, regions and even provinces may have restrictive laws on hunting and also different from each other.
Too much regulation for my taste. I'm just happy I can walk out my back door about 150 yards and be in a tree stand.
Wow. I guess we should be not *****somuch about our own rules and regulations. Would you say it works in Italy? Seems like you have a lot of hunters that really want to hunt and know what their doing. Would you recommend me to take my bow next year and try to hunt wild boar with an outfitter or not?
That's crazy. Here in the states, if someone is going to hunt unethically, chances are a 70+ hour class isn't going to stop them. I would think it would result in a lot of poaching. Poaching occurs often, unfortunately and it's pretty easy to obtain a license here in the US.
IMO No, for italians if they don't have a valid hunting license they can't hunt even with an outfitter, but let me check tomorrow morning with the hunters association that I belong the rules for foreign hunters and I let you know.
Holly cow...that's a lot. Makes us look like a bunch of uneducated hillbillys in the woods here in the states lol.
Would love it if you could post some pictures of bucks you have there...either ones you and friends/family have harvested or trailcams or whatever. Just like to see what types of bucks you guys hunt there.
Actually, I think this is a good reason for us to keep up the ********. If we go quiet, this could be our new system.
Classic European model. Reelect Obama and this country will move closer to that over regulated b.s. those rules clearly translate that the government thinks its own people are incompetent and cannot hunt on there own without over education from the government. What a joke.
Thanks, I'd appreciate that. It's no biggie, I just like to hunt different areas and countries when I travel there. We got a brochure from a hotel in Tuscany last year advertising free wild boar hunt when you stay at their resort Sounded cool but it my be rifle and on their own property.
Here are few links to a web site managed by a friend of mine, one of my hunting buddy, with pictures. http://www.archery.it/catture.html http://www.archery.it/trialcamera.html I'm sorry it's only in italian, shoot me a pm if you want me to translate something.
Hey I'm moving to Italy summer 2013 for 4 years or more. How much are the classes up to big game really want to bow hunt there.
Hi, they usually start in mid march and the tests are in mid of june. You are going to spend around 130 - 150 €uros for the base license and 250 - 300 €uros for the big game license plus €uro 100.00 in stamps. Then you need to pay for each year : Governement concession Tax €uro 173.16 Regional Tax €uro 64.56 ATC (hunting zone) from €uro 100.00 to 150.00 for each zone.. Insurance €uro 73.00 Those are the cost and the info in my region. Note that not in all regions are allowed to bowhunt for small and/or big game. You must contact the Hunting office at the province of the region you're going to live and ask them, times, cost and rules may vary. Where do you think you're going to live in Italy??
Contact Information Hey Bengrizzly, I am moving to Italy for 3 years in August 2013, and I also would like to bowhunt in Italy. If you're interested we can exchange information to help each other out and/or possibly hunt together while we're there. I'll be out of Naples, Italy. You?
hey Bengrizzly and RazorBack i will be moving to Foggio, Italy in the next 8-12 months. Hows the hunting so far? Cost? Bowhunt? What areas are you guys in?
Hi Monty, I know this blog post was from many years ago, but it's honestly the best information I have been able to find regarding bowhunting in Italy. I just moved to Padova, Veneto. And I am looking to continue bowhunting here. Is it the same in this province as what you stated before, or do different rules apply? And any other websites that could point me in the right direction to get started with courses and doing the tests etc.? Thanks!
Hi Jimmi Welcome to Italy! I'm assuming by now, you have realized the extreme challenges around hunting in Italy and especially bowhunting? A few years ago, I moved to the Emilia Romagna region, about 1.5 hours south of Milan. I, of course, researched hunting opportunities in Italy before moving and read that you can bow hunt here. Little did I understand that it’s only a few regions that allow bow hunting, and Emilia Romagna is NOT one of them. At that time, I already bought my house, so it's been personally very challenging not to bow hunt on my land and around here. As with many things in Italy, it's almost impossible to find general information on the exact rules and regulations. I've contacted SCI Italy that has a “Bowhunting Chapter” (it's one guy with no info other than “move to Tuscany” as an answer to my questions. As far as I’ve been told, by an Armeria in Tuscany that sells archery equipment, Tuscany and Marche are the only two regions that allow bowhunting. I know Liguria did a test year for bowhunting in one part of the state but haven't been able to find any additional information on whether it's still legal there or not. Additionally, Italy does not recognize US hunting licenses, so you would have to go through all the tests, in Italian - no English options available, then see what you can do after that. The only way I have found that would allow a US hunter to hunt here without first taking all the license tests is to hunt on a “reserva” where you can officially hunt under a guide's license. It's an odd loophole, but it seems to be the only solution. Although I lived in New York for 20 years - I'm from Denmark originally and have managed to have my Danish hunting license recognized here after I had to hire a lawyer to help me because, despite the law saying a European license can be accepted and converted, the Emilia Romagna region refused to comply, ao lawyer it was. Now I have my small game license while still fighting to get my big game permit three years later. I love Italy, but this s... Has me seriously considering moving back to New York! Shoot me an email or WhatsApp if you are still around, and let's try to get together for a hunt somewhere. [email protected] +393662749222 Danny QUOTE="jimmy kok, post: 1552934, member: 41412"]Hi Monty, I know this blog post was from many years ago, but it's honestly the best information I have been able to find regarding bowhunting in Italy. I just moved to Padova, Veneto. And I am looking to continue bowhunting here. Is it the same in this province as what you stated before, or do different rules apply? And any other websites that could point me in the right direction to get started with courses and doing the tests etc.? Thanks![/QUOTE]
