There has long been in place a ban on hunting wolves in Spain as they were an endangered species, but this might now change, thanks to a proposal by regional governments where there are wolf populations.
The decision taken was at a conference were all regional representatives were present together with the Spanish Minister for the Environment and was based on a report carried out by Galicia (PP run) which claimed that the conservation status was favourable, in contrast another report prepared by the Central Government, which advocated for maintaining the current level of protection for the Canis lupus.
Ministry sources rejected the Xunta de Galicia‘s, analysis, which they view as an “alternative proposal,” because it does not align with the methodological and reporting criteria established by the European Commission.
Whilst the Central Government opposed lifting the ban, the majority of regional governments sided with Galicia, except for the Basque Country, Cataluña, and Castilla-La Mancha, which abstained
The situation puts environmentalists in the opposite corner to livestock farmers and hunters. In light of the six-year report’s analysis, Ecologistas en Acción requested to maintain the ban, calling for politics to be left aside, urging attention only to “solid, transparent scientific information” and to leave partisan interests and economic sectors aside.
They were referring to Galicía, which is in the hands of the PP conservatives as well as Asturias, Cantabria, and Castilla y León, which are pushing to lift the ban using several different arguments.
As a result of the conferrence, the report will be sent to the European Commission with conclusions on the conservation level of the wolf, its habitat, and its expansion zones.
Several livestock sector associations, including ASAJA, COAG, and UPA, complained about being “excluded” from the public consultation of the 6-year report, as they had not been “institutionally” notified. They stated that their position was sent to the Directorate-General for Biodiversity without receiving any “acknowledgment of receipt or response.”
Editorial comment: livestock farmers, especially in Galicia, have been plagued by wolf attack on their cattle and sheep. They do receive compensation for the loss or injury to their livestock but they consider that the money received does not reflect the real value of the animal.
Editorial comment: your thoughts, Gazette Readers?
(Galicia, Spain)
Keywords: Wolf Attacks On Cattle, Ban On Hunting, Vote To Lift Ban, Central Government, Xunta De Galicia, Hunters, Livestock Farmers, European Commission
news, galicia, spain, wolf attacks on cattle, ban on hunting, vote to lift ban, central government, xunta de galicia, hunters, livestock farmers, european commission
The northern regional governments where most of the wolf populations are: Cantabria (PP) Galicia (PP) Asturias (PSOE) Castilla-Leon (PP) There are also wolves moving into the autonomous regions of Madrid (PP) La Rioja (PP), Castilla-La Mancha, (PSOE, who abstained) and the Basque Lands (PNV Basque Nationalist & PSOE who abstained) and of course, down in the south in Andalucía (PP) there are wolves.
Every regional government in the hands of the PP voted in favour of lifting the ban, regardless of whether they have wolf populations, which the rest don’t. The PP hold 11 of the 17 regional governments of Spain, including the two autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Of the remaining 11 regional governments that are not run by the PP, four abstained. Not one regional government headed by the PSOE voted in favour.
So, no, not all are PP but yes, the majority of those that voted in favour are under the PP, who have a strong hunters’ lobby and is a party that supports bull fighting, giving it public subsidies under a PP Central Government.
The other regional government that abstained was the Catalans, run by nationalists.
Therefore, the other regional governments that voted in favour of lifting the ban… don’t have wolf populations.
My personal view: all animal populations should undergo culling if their numbers become unmanageable. Should culling be introduced because lobbies and like-minded politicians get a hard on over the idea of being able to get a crack at wolves? No.
The reason that wolves became almost extinct was because they were hunted almost to oblivion.
The last wolf in Andalucia, I seem to remember, was killed in the 50s but since the return of democracy they have been reintroduced through bringing them in from parts of the country where there are wolves. Lynxes were also almost made extinct until protected.
A bastard hunter shot my dog when I lived in a cortijo above Otívar – they used it as target practice. In the village, the mere mention of a fox on your property brought cries of “Kill it” from local hunters.
However, Hunting is not only a sport, it is an important part of balancing animal populations and there are many, many hunters who are responsible.
Are all these regions pushing to lift the ban in the hands of the PP?
Are they the only regions who have problems with wolves?
Thank you for that, Melanie and nice to get some feedback from Galicia.
Last week a wolf attacked a sheep belonging to my neighbour. His horse tried to defend the sheep. The horse was bitten on its leg. It took the vet half an hour to stitch the sheep back together.