Five wolves found poisoned in Bolognese Apennines

(ANSA) - ROME, JUN 1 - Five wolves were found poisoned in the Bolognese Apennines in a two-week period in January, the likely victims of Italian farmers or hunters, forest rangers said Wednesday.
    "An entire pack has been swept away, it is a 'bio-cide'," said the president of the eastern Emilian parks agency, Sandro Ceccoli, and the head of its environmental department, David Bianco.
    They noted that wolves area protected species in Italy and are essential to the balance of the ecosystem.
    The animals' bodies were found in a two-kilometre area in the Caprara locality, in the heart of the historic Monte Sole Park, a watershed between the valleys of the Reno and the Setta rivers.
    "I think we have been faced with a negative national record," said Bianco.
    "In the past we have happened to find wolves poisoned, but never anything like this".
    The animals were killed by powerful rat poison.
    "it's an extremely serious case," added Ceccoli, "also because there are no sheep in the Monte Sole Park or any other livestock farms, and the wolves live in equilibrium, without creating problems".
    Italy's once-threatened wolf population is thriving and has grown to an estimated 3,300 animals, according to a study coordinated by the ISPRA environmental agency published May 17.
    The report said around 950 of the wolves live in Alpine areas while 2,400 are spread out along the rest of the Italian peninsula.
    "It is possible to say that the species occupies almost all of the environments that are suitable for it" in Italy, the study said.
    "The wolf population has grown everywhere, although the increase in the Alps is more significant".
    Some 3,000 people, including forest guards, police officers and volunteers from local and national associations, worked on the study.
    Experts used images take by "photo-traps' and other forms of evidence, such as droppings, the carcasses of prey and the remains of 171 dead wolves to make the estimate of the population.
    Giampiero Sammuri, the president of the Federparchi federation bringing together agencies that run national parks and nature reserves, said the study highlighted the success of the conservation efforts conducted in recent decades and proved that the species "is not longer endangered" here. (ANSA).