28/12/2025

The ruling of the Regional Administrative Court (TAR) of Molise, filed on 12 December, marks a moment of extraordinary importance in the long-standing affair concerning the Pentro horses and the management of grazing lands in the Pantano della Zittola, one of the most delicate and valuable natural sites in the central Apennines.

The Court fully dismissed the appeal brought by the Municipality of Montenero Val Cocchiara against the decision of the Molise Regional Authority which, in January 2024, approved the management plan for municipal silvo-pastoral assets, subjecting it to a series of specific and non-derogable requirements. These requirements have long been advocated by IHP Italian Horse Protection and represent the bare minimum necessary to safeguard both the horses and the ecosystem in which they live.

Among the measures challenged by the Municipality – and now definitively upheld by administrative justice – are two provisions that IHP has always considered central: the ban on grazing during the winter months in the most exposed and fragile areas of the Pantano, and the obligation to ensure that horses are always identifiable, even from a distance. These are requirements dictated by common sense even before by law.

The Pantano della Zittola lies at over 1,000 metres above sea level, in an area characterised by harsh winters, with snow, frost and frequent flooding. Allowing horses to roam freely and unsupervised under such conditions means exposing them to avoidable suffering, depriving them of adequate forage and essential shelter. For years, IHP has warned that grazing must not be allowed to degenerate into abandonment disguised as tradition.

The Court stated this explicitly: the protection of the Pentro horse does not coincide with unregulated free-range breeding. On the contrary, its preservation requires careful and responsible regulation. In a particularly significant passage, the Court also noted that the Municipality had improperly acted as a spokesperson for breeders’ interests, confusing the public interest with private ones.

This position dismantles, point by point, the accusations levelled against the Molise Regional Authority: no procedural flaws, no lack of transparency, no abuse of power. The contested requirements were already present, in substance, in previous regional acts and were deemed coherent, proportionate and based on a thorough technical assessment.

For IHP, this ruling represents a fundamental tool. It confirms that breeders who benefit from the use of public grazing lands also have clear obligations: to supervise their animals, comply with seasonal limits, and ensure proper identification, feeding and adequate shelter. No exceptions can be made when animal welfare and the protection of a Natura 2000 site are at stake.

The Mayor of Montenero Val Cocchiara has stated that such protective measures are already included in the draft municipal regulation. We now await their formal publication and, above all, clarification on how their concrete implementation will be ensured and how abuses by unscrupulous breeders will be addressed. Just a few hours before the ruling was filed, a meeting convened by the Prefect of Isernia took place in an attempt to resolve the long-standing dispute over the management of the Pentro horses. IHP took part in this meeting, once again denouncing the unacceptable conditions in which dozens of horses endure the winter months and proposing a series of solutions that essentially coincide with those imposed by the judiciary.

Now, the Municipality and the Region must reach an agreement. IHP calls to be heard by both parties, as a third party with no economic interests at stake and, above all, as an institutionally recognised body entitled to represent the rights of the Pentro horses, which have been systematically violated for decades.

IHP will continue to monitor and act, as it has done for years, to ensure that the Pentro horse is not used as an alibi for practices that have nothing to do with its genuine protection.