https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Italy in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Animal activists have been turning up the heat on Milan Fashion Week to adopt a fully fur-free policy, with dozens of protesters demonstrating outside the Giorgio Armani show on Sunday. https://www.thelocal.it/20260302/activists-pressure-milan-fashion-week-to-go-fully-fur-free Mon, 02 Mar 2026 09:46:09 +0100 activists-pressure-milan-fashion-week-to-go-fully-fur-free The Mediterranean's first sanctuary for dolphins that have lived in captivity will open off Italy's coast next year, as demand for re-homing rises with the closure of marine parks across Europe. https://www.thelocal.it/20251205/italy-to-open-europes-first-marine-sanctuary-for-dolphins Fri, 05 Dec 2025 10:18:06 +0100 italy-to-open-europes-first-marine-sanctuary-for-dolphins Compulsory microchips as well as bans on ear-cropping and tail-docking are among a set of new rules to protect cats and dogs that have been approved by European lawmakers. https://www.thelocal.it/20250619/mutilation-ban-and-microchips-eu-lawmakers-approve-cat-and-dog-welfare-rules Thu, 19 Jun 2025 18:08:09 +0200 mutilation-ban-and-microchips-eu-lawmakers-approve-cat-and-dog-welfare-rules The northern Italian province says it will push ahead with plans to fine dog owners who refuse to pay for DNA profiling in a crackdown on dog poo in the streets. https://www.thelocal.it/20240123/do-dogs-in-italys-bolzano-really-have-to-be-dna-tested-under-new-laws Tue, 23 Jan 2024 17:53:37 +0100 do-dogs-in-italys-bolzano-really-have-to-be-dna-tested-under-new-laws After a lion escaped from a circus near Rome over the weekend and made international headlines, many people were surprised to learn that wild animals are kept for entertainment in Italy. https://www.thelocal.it/20231113/reader-question-is-it-legal-for-circuses-in-italy-to-use-animals Mon, 13 Nov 2023 13:28:11 +0100 reader-question-is-it-legal-for-circuses-in-italy-to-use-animals The lion that escaped from a circus near Rome posed no threat to the public, his handler insisted, as campaigners called for Italy to ban wild animals in entertainment. https://www.thelocal.it/20231113/italian-circus-says-escaped-lion-posed-no-risk Mon, 13 Nov 2023 10:10:59 +0100 italian-circus-says-escaped-lion-posed-no-risk Italian politicians and wildlife experts condemned Friday the shooting dead of a rare brown bear, as a search was underway for her two cubs. https://www.thelocal.it/20230902/outrage-after-rare-brown-bear-shot-dead-in-central-italy Sat, 02 Sep 2023 10:18:27 +0200 outrage-after-rare-brown-bear-shot-dead-in-central-italy Animal rights campaigners are calling for the release of a female bear suspected of killing a jogger in northern Italy, after they said teeth marks proved the culprit was in fact male. https://www.thelocal.it/20230511/activists-fight-to-save-innocent-bear-held-for-killing-jogger-in-italy Thu, 11 May 2023 19:18:50 +0200 activists-fight-to-save-innocent-bear-held-for-killing-jogger-in-italy A new project in Rome will train sniffer dogs to detect the presence of coronavirus in human sweat. https://www.thelocal.it/20210401/italy-trains-covid-19-detection-dogs-to-smell-out-coronavirus Thu, 01 Apr 2021 14:57:17 +0200 italy-trains-covid-19-detection-dogs-to-smell-out-coronavirus An Italian man shot dead his father on Sunday during a hunting expedition in southern Italy after mistaking him for a wild boar, according to media reports. https://www.thelocal.it/20190923/italian-hunter-shoots-father-dead-after-mistaking-him-for-boar Mon, 23 Sep 2019 13:26:37 +0200 italian-hunter-shoots-father-dead-after-mistaking-him-for-boar Idioms and proverbs can be a minefield for the Italian novice – in fact, they’re confusing even for those with an advanced knowledge of the language. https://www.thelocal.it/20160116/ten-wonderfully-quirky-italian-animal-related-idioms Sat, 16 Jan 2016 16:00:59 +0100 ten-wonderfully-quirky-italian-animal-related-idioms Conservationists have successfully created two northern white rhino embryos in a key step towards pulling the species back from the brink of extinction, scientists in Italy said on Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.it/20190911/an-italian-lab-could-hold-the-key-to-saving-the-northern-white-rhino-from-extinction Wed, 11 Sep 2019 15:03:13 +0200 an-italian-lab-could-hold-the-key-to-saving-the-northern-white-rhino-from-extinction Italian animal lovers cheered on a wild bear on Tuesday after a daring escape from an electrified holding pen sparked a bear-hunt and a furore over its fate. https://www.thelocal.it/20190716/italians-cheer-on-wild-bears-great-escape Tue, 16 Jul 2019 18:19:22 +0200 italians-cheer-on-wild-bears-great-escape A group of tigers at a circus in southern Italy attacked and killed their veteran trainer during rehearsals, Italian media reported on Friday. https://www.thelocal.it/20190705/tigers-kill-circus-trainer-in-southern-italy Fri, 05 Jul 2019 16:02:54 +0200 tigers-kill-circus-trainer-in-southern-italy Luxury fashion house Prada said on Wednesday it will remove animal fur from its collections, joining a lengthening list of designers to make that choice. https://www.thelocal.it/20190523/prada-becomes-latest-italian-fashion-house-to-give-up-fur Thu, 23 May 2019 11:24:50 +0200 prada-becomes-latest-italian-fashion-house-to-give-up-fur It might surprise you to learn that Italy has a number of pink flamingo populations for several months each year. Starting from late winter and early spring, the birds migrate to Italian waters – where you can admire them in the wild. https://www.thelocal.it/20180316/where-to-see-wild-flamingos-in-italy Fri, 16 Mar 2018 09:07:38 +0100 where-to-see-wild-flamingos-in-italy The Eurasian beaver has been spotted in Italy for the first time in more than 450 years. https://www.thelocal.it/20181206/beavers-return-to-italy-after-450-years Thu, 06 Dec 2018 11:53:34 +0100 beavers-return-to-italy-after-450-years Two northern Italian councils have legalized the shooting of wild wolves and bears, plans which have been met with backlash from animal rights organizations and the Minister for the Environment. https://www.thelocal.it/20180709/italian-trento-bolzano-shooting-wolves-bears-sergio-costa-wwf Mon, 09 Jul 2018 12:46:51 +0200 italian-trento-bolzano-shooting-wolves-bears-sergio-costa-wwf Scientists said on Wednesday they had tracked down the oldest known lizard, a tiny creature that lived about 240 million years ago when Earth had a single continent and dinosaurs were brand new. https://www.thelocal.it/20180531/scientists-find-the-oldest-known-lizard-in-the-italian-alps Thu, 31 May 2018 11:12:56 +0200 scientists-find-the-oldest-known-lizard-in-the-italian-alps Workers carrying out checks on Giotto's Campanile in Florence found that they had company some 80 metres above the city: a nest of peregrine falcons. https://www.thelocal.it/20180510/peregrine-falcon-nest-giottos-bell-tower-florence-italy-video Thu, 10 May 2018 14:54:12 +0200 peregrine-falcon-nest-giottos-bell-tower-florence-italy-video