Hunting in Sicily: hearing on the 2026/2027 hunting calendar takes place on October 20th

20 October 2026

Hunting in Sicily: hearing on the 2026/2027 hunting calendar takes place today

The Associations: ‘Wildlife management plan expired in 2018 and data is patchy. Without a plan and without effective monitoring, hunting cannot take place’

Rome, 20 October 2026 – The hearing on the merits of the appeal against the Sicilian Region’s 2026/2027 hunting calendar, brought by the National Pro Natura Federation APS and LEAL Anti-Vivisection League ETS, with the support of CABS, Green Impact ETS and Attivisti Gruppo Randagio (AGR), took place today before the Regional Administrative Court of Palermo. The judgement is expected in the coming weeks.

The calendar had been suspended by the Palermo Regional Administrative Court (Order No. 481 of 29 July 2026). The Council of Administrative Justice for the Region of Sicily (CGARS), by Order No. 296/2026 of 4 September, subsequently reinstated it, but upheld the ban on hunting wild turtle doves during the pre-season, ruling that it was necessary to ‘give priority to environmental protection over economic and sporting interests’.

The CGARS also noted that the regional wildlife and hunting plan remains unchanged since the 2013–2018 period and that the data collected by the Region consists of ‘fragmentary information’. This shortcoming ‘appears potentially capable of undermining the rationale’ behind the calendar, particularly where the Region deviates from ISPRA’s opinion.

Read the Press Release in Italian
Read the Press Release in English