"You are monsters." Screams, moments of tension, human shields. There were long minutes of tension yesterday in Massarosa (Lucca) between animal rights activists and local health vets engaged in an operation to kill a wild boar found injured in the street due to an accident that occurred near some houses.
The animal rights activists opposed the killing of the wild boar and the intervention of the police was necessary to allow the sanitary workers to operate in accordance with the provisions of the rules and also with the special measures envisaged in order not to spread African swine fever.
On the spot, in via Ghivizzani, two patrols of the carabinieri intervened , one of which from the Forestry department, a patrol from the municipal police and one from the provincial police equipped with a long weapon suitable for the intervention. Law enforcement officers struggled to fulfill the service. The animal rights activists who rushed to the scene asked for an alternative solution to be found, even with the harsh behavior of some demonstrators. In the end, the vets have completed their task, while the agents will evaluate any personal, criminal and administrative responsibilities of some identified.
«The problem of wild boars has deep roots and often borders on the field of public safety», explains the commander of the Provincial Police of Lucca, Elio Cappellini, recalling «news events that have involved various road accidents due to the presence of wild boars which, sometimes , have resulted in serious or very serious injuries and even the death of motorists, as happened last July in Versilia, when a 55-year-old father of two died ».
"To this already dramatic situation - he continued - has been added African swine fever, requiring ever greater efforts from the police forces and, in particular, from the provincial police responsible for wildlife control".
The commander thanked all the police forces involved in the intervention and the ASL vets for the support and great professionalism shown, despite the strong climate of tension due to "the behavior of some present".
