The weakening of protection for the wolf at European level will not affect the Iberian wolf.
The WWF says ‘nothing will change in Spain’.
A ruling by the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention entered into force today (March 7), downgrading the status of the grey wolf in Europe from ‘strictly protected’ to ‘protected’.
European Action Wolves coalition said it paves the way for more culls. They have challenged the decision at the General Court of the European Union, seeking an annulment.
The WWF commented: “It is a serious decision which sets a worrying precedent for the conservation of nature in Europe, but this will not affect Spain at a legal level.”
They pointed out that EU Member States are able to ‘maintain the model of management’ of the species that they deem to be necessary in their countries.
In Spain in 2021 the ministry for the ecological transition included the Iberian wolf on the list of species under special protection (Listado de Especies Silvestres en Régimen de Protección Especial – LESPRE).
This was due to the wolf’s importance in maintaining balanced ecosystems.
“This measure unified the management of the species in the whole of the country and prohibited the hunting of wolves,” noted the WWF.
According to the WWF, the European Commission published a study in 2023 which found that ‘there is no proof that culling wolves leads to a reduction in the deaths of livestock’.
The WWF stated that Spain ‘can and has to follow the correct line, by managing the species based on scientific evidence and co-existence with traditional activities’ such as farming.
This will allow the wolf to maintain a favourable state of conservation in Spain, they say.
The WWF explained that following the inclusion of the wolf on the LESPRE, each regional government is able to access ‘generous state funding to finance preventative measures and minimise damage’.
€20 million a year is up for grabs and the cash can be used to compensate farmers who have lost livestock to wolves.
However, in a report published on March 6, the WWF hit out at all regional governments in Spain which have populations of wolves.
None of these 11 governments do enough to guarantee the ‘correct conservation’ of the species, according to the WWF.
And they placed specific emphasis on measures which ‘contribute to reducing and mitigating social conflict and the illegal persecution of the species’.
Their analysis covers Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, the Basque Country, Castilla y León, La Rioja, Aragón, Cataluña, Castilla-La Mancha, Madrid and Andalucía.
WWF conservation coordinator, Luis Suárez explained that Cataluña was the highest ranking region for wolf conservation, with Andalucía at the bottom of the pile.
Sr Suárez insisted that it is necessary to ‘depoliticise the debate around the wolf’ and guarantee its co-existence with rural communities.
However, despite the criticism, the situation has improved considerably since the wolf was included on the LESPRE list and ‘more than half the regional governments have improved planning and conservation’ in the last few years, he added.
Things are moving in the right direction and it is crucial to maintain this because ‘there is still a lot to do’, he said.
“The wolf has very few enemies, apart from human beings,” said Sr Suárez.
“There are still many myths and false beliefs surrounding the wolf, which is fingered as being responsible for many negative things that occur in the countryside.”
Sr Suárez also noted the unique characteristics which the Iberian wolf possesses.
They have markings on their heads and hind legs which are adaptations to their environment in Spain, he said.
Also, due to the climate, they are smaller than their cousins in central Europe.
A Hispano-Portuguese study found ‘dog DNA’ in a chromosome of the Iberian wolf, which has never been in other populations and ‘could have influenced in their capacity to adapt to humanised environments’.
“The wolf is not a dangerous animal, it flees from human presence,” said Sr Suárez.
“It can be kept away from livestock by the presence of a shepherd or well-trained mastiffs, and by keeping the flocks in enclosed spaces at night,” he concluded.
Recent Comments