Parliament set to ban live decoys

(ANSA) - Rome, June 9 - The Italian government will "turn over a new page" on Tuesday when it officially bans the use of live decoys in hunting in its House vote. Environmental groups including the World Wildlife Fund called the amendment to Italian Article 15, which defined the use of live bait, "the end of a horrible tradition" where hunters were permitted to capture small migratory birds, keep them inhumane conditions and use them as decoys. According to activists, Article 15 was "insufficient" and that it "did not make the capture and use of birds illegal but restricts them to finding an exception.
It doesn't answer the requests of the European Union". In March, the European Union sent Italy a letter of formal notice for infractions against bird poaching, following protest and complaint by Italian environmental activists. The passing of the amendment is considered a significant step forward for activists, who said "in one move, it will resolve the dispute with Europe and would turn over, after decades, this ugly page reserved for wild birds".