The position of ISPRA on the control program of the mouflon in the national park of the Tuscan archipelago, elba island

In the last few weeks ISPRA received several notes from Tuscany Animal Right and Animal Welfare associations complaining about the eradication of the Mouglon currently going on in the Elba island (National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago) as well as proposing alternative non cruel measures to limit the population. With the present note, ISPRA therefore intends to provide some clarification, notably related to the technical-scientific criteria adopted by ISPRA to draft the opinions issued following the request of the Park Authority.

It is important to premise that the origin of the Mouflon population currently present in the island comes from introductions made for hunting purposes in the eighties. Therefore, the species has to be regarded as alien for the area, and the insular indeed contributes to make its presence more problematic, because of the interactions with the anthropic components. The species Ovies aries, which comprises the Moufflon and also feral sheep, has been recognized as causing severe impacts on biodiversity, in particular in island ecosystems. According to a comparative analysis of the data available in the Red List of the IUCN and in the IUCN Global Invasive Species database, this species caused impacts on 189 endangered species, among which many endemic insular species. The relevant impacts caused at a global scale by the species to the biodiversity of the small islands are linked to the natural history of these environments, often developed in the absence of large herbivores and predators. Islands are therefore particularly vulnerable to the effects of browsing and trampling, which can cause serious damage to plant community and natural habitats and contribute to soil erosion. Technically, the eradication of alien species, which cause impacts on biodiversity, is an action explicitly provided for by the "National Strategy for Biodiversity" - approved on 7 October 2010 by the Standing Conference for relations between the State, the Regions and the Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano in agreement with the Ministry of the Environment - and it is also explicitly required by the "Guidelines for the prevention, the introduction and impacts mitigation of alien species which threaten ecosystems, habitats or species" ("CBD Guiding Principles adopted with Decision VI/23 from VI Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity, The Hague, 7-19 April 2002). At national level, the laws 116/2014 and 221/2015 have established that the management of alien species is aimed at their eradication or at controlling their populations. This prescription does not apply to some species/populations, including those of Sardinian Mouflon, that, based on the Decree 19 January 2015 of the Ministry of the Environment and Protection of the Territory and the sea, are defined “parautoctonous” (i.e. introduced before 1500). ISPRA also suggests that, outside Sardinia, the species should be managed in such a way as to prevent spreading and populations increase - in particular where it can compete with native ungulates - while removing all the populations of recent formation (Guidelines for the management of ungulates - ISPRA 91/2013).

It is worth noting that removals are also permitted inside of national parks in order to "manage ecological imbalances, as assessed by the Park Authority" (Law of 6 December 1991, n. 394, art. 11, paragraph 4). The national law does not foresee any technical assessment by ISPRA which however in this specific case has been requested by the Park Authority. ISPRA deemed acceptable the technical aspects of the eradication plan, which excludes undesirable effects on not-target species.

Moreover, it is useful to recall that, according to the abovementioned Law of 11 February 1992, n 157, art. 18, subparagraph 1, the Mouflon, except the Sardinian population, is a game species in Italy. At national level, the Mouflon is hunted in 23 provinces out of 42 where it is present (ISPRA, Ungulates Databank 2010) and about 2000 specimens (1913 in the period 2009-2010; ISPRA, Databank ungulates) are harvested annually.

In relation to the use sterilizing baits, currently it is not available any sterilizing formulation which can be given orally in order to realize the indirect control of the population. As for the translocation of animals from Elba to Sardinia and Corsica, as an alternative to direct control, it should be noted that, according to the "Guidelines for species translocation” established by ISPRA, and the IUCN " Guidelines for Reintroductions and Other Conservation Translocations” (IUCN SSC/2013), the translocations for conservation purposes can only be acceptable if they are necessary for the objectives of conservation, there are no other alternatives, and the risk of undesired impacts is minimal. In the case of the Mouflon, apart from the conservation problems of the Mouflon in Sardinia, risks are represented by possible transmission of diseases and by genetic risks.

Therefore, Mouflon translocation from the Tuscan Archipelago to Sardinia would require a careful selection of subjects to be moved, both in terms of age and sex; since a limited number of individuals, if any, could be translocated, the translocation would not be effective in eradicating the population from Elba island.