The government is to crack down on people who leave out poisoned food to kill dogs and other animals, Welfare Undersecretary Francesca Martini said Tuesday.
Under new measures Martini said would be issued ''soon'', both the owners of poisoned pets and veterinary surgeons will be obliged by law to report cases, while tests will be carried out on all suspect substances.
''People must understand that this is a crime, and it becomes a problem of public health because if the land is polluted with these substances there is a danger for people who come into contact with it,'' she said.
Martini said a special free telephone number would be set up for poisoning reports.
The scientific director of animal rights organisation Animalisti Italiani, Ilaria Ferri, said that the measures would not solve the problem of tracing the perpetrators, who often use household chemicals to lace food.
''Some substances, like rat poison or antifreeze, people can buy easily,'' she said.
Ferri added that information on the number of animals poisoned each year was not available because cases frequently go unreported, stressing that wild animals also fall victim to poisoned food.
When a poisoned wild animal is eaten by a predator, the toxic substance can work its way up the food chain, she said.
In a widely reported case last year, three bears in the Abruzzo National Park were found to have been poisoned with a powerful fungicide, prompting the Italian section of the WWF to put a 10,000-euro bounty on the heads of the culprits.
