The hunting season began on Sunday, amid great controversy. Italy has some of the most stringent hunting rules in Europe. Hunting necessitates a medical checkup by a family doctor, followed by a medical examiner, the local health authority (ASL), or the military. These examinations must be performed on a regular basis. You must also pass a hunting exam and receive firearms certification from a shooting range, then submit an application to the police headquarters, which verifies all legal requirements before granting a firearms license. Hunting is only allowed in specified locations; it is prohibited in protected areas such as parks, oases, and repopulation zones. Then there are private hunting businesses that require a concessionaire's license to operate. These locations frequently coincide with farms. However, animal rights and environmental groups are concerned that a bill presently being debated in the Senate may allow hunting deregulation. There is much debate, but the truth is that since 1992, when the current law was created, things have changed dramatically. Hunters in Italy once numbered 1.5 million, but now number fewer than 500,000, while wild wildlife has increased tremendously.