Two months after the Caldes (TN) accident, the Associations WWF Trentino ODV e I am not afraid of the APS wolf express all their disappointment regarding what is the work of the Province of Trento with respect to the lack of initiatives implemented in order to inform, educate and work for the coexistence between man and large carnivores in the Province of Trento.
Sixty days later the scenario is bleak: not only to date there are no implementations substantial cultural initiatives dedicated to citizens, to stakeholders and tourists to inform about the presence of bears and wolves, good practices and correct behaviors to be adopted in the areas where they are present, but it is clear how there is no planning on the part of the Provincial offices to develop and propose initiatives to citizens with respect to these issues in such a delicate period and at the beginning of the tourist season. To date, nothing has changed in the provincial territory and it is not just about the chronic lack of information, right of every citizen: insufficient and inadequate signage in the areas where the bear is present is accompanied by the perpetual shortage in many areas of bear-proof bins, a fundamental ingredient for avoiding potential critical situations, just as, after 60 days, it remains eternally the adoption of the bear spray is also pending, demonstrating the political incapacity to resolve an important issue in concert with the national government with which the Provincial Administration shares the majority forces. There is also no trace of the 2022 large carnivores report. Among the few initiatives undertaken by the PAT in recent weeks the concertation meeting convened with the interested categories is even more out of place to talk about Large Carnivores, an event to which, however, the Environmental Associations were not invited, realities that have always dealt with fauna and the environment in Trentino and among the first bearers of interest on the subject; For the sake of completeness of information, the Trentino Winegrowers' Association, the Trentino Building Association and the Italian Red Cross were invited to the event, organizations that have nothing to do with large carnivores. Fear remains the main theme today, and is fueled through questionable initiatives that they find no confirmation in the Science and in the experiences of the other Italian regions, such as the recent changes to the protocol for rescuers engaged in night operations, according to which each intervention will be evaluated "case by case" with respect to the presence of large carnivores in the area. This type of initiative not only underlines once again the total management inadequacy and lack of knowledge of the Civil Protection Department (to which the Forestry and Wildlife Service has been merged) with respect to the issue of large carnivores, but also embarrasses the volunteers and professionals of the emergency services that are the flagship of Trentino and who sacrifice themselves every day to intervene in case of need, in all conditions and with the appropriate safety assessments. The wolf has been present in the Alps for over 30 years, for 11 in Trentino, while in the rest of Italy it has often been present for decades with densities decidedly higher than the local ones, yet no limitation relating to rescue activities is known with respect to both the presence of the wolf and in the Regions affected by the presence of the brown bear (Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Piedmont, Abruzzo, Molise, Marche, Lazio).In conclusion, as Associations and as citizens we can only wish for a sudden change of course which puts competence, seriousness and scientific knowledge before the proclamations of the failed provincial management of large carnivores in respect of all those who have the right to be informed, to learn to coexist and to get to know those animals with which we have lived for a long time and with which we will continue to share spaces also in the future.