Rightwing parties in Parliament have conspired to allow wolves to be hunted once more in Spain.
An unholy alliance, made up of the Partido Popular (PP), far-right Vox and nationalists from the Basque Country (PNV) and Cataluña (Junts), introduced an amendment to legislation in Congress to bring in the measure via the backdoor.
The move comes just a few weeks after the WWF assured that the weakening of protection for the wolf at European level would not affect Spain.
The WWF had pointed out that EU Member States were able to ‘maintain the model of management’ of the species that they deemed to be necessary in their countries.
In early March they reminded that 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 provided effective protection for the wolf, highlighting the animal’s importance in maintaining balanced ecosytems.
However, the amendment introduced by the PP to a new law on preventing food waste refutes evidence provided by scientists and withdraws LESPRE protection for wolves to the north of the River Duero, where the mainstay of the population lives.
According to the PP, this will ‘control the impact that the species is having on livestock and, in this way, prevent food waste’.
Five of the main ecologist associations in Spain, the WWF, Greenpeace, Amigas de la Tierra, Ecologistas en Acción and SEO/BirdLife issued a joint press release attacking the move, which is designed to allow the wolf to be hunted again.
They said it was a ‘serious backwards step’ and ‘puts this species, which is essential for the health of ecosystems, in danger’.
The ecologists said it was unacceptable that protection has been taken away from the Iberian wolf via a law that has nothing to do with this species.
They accused the PP of mounting an underhand parliamentary manoeuvre, which is not supported by science.
According to the ecologists, regional governments would be able to establish quotas for kills in their areas, allowing the wolves to be shot by hunters.
They noted that persecution of the wolf before 2021 had not reduced the dangers faced by livestock herds.
Since releasing the press release, the WWF has sent a letter to regional governments in the north of Spain warning that they will take legal action against any administration that approves plans to cull wolves.
The WWF claimed in the letter that jurisprudence in Spain and at a European level has established that killing wolves is illegal ‘while the species is in an unfavourable state of conservation’.
WWF secretary general in Spain, Juan Carlos del Olmo said the wolf population is Spain is not growing fast and its future ‘is not guaranteed’.
According to the WWF, the European Commission published a study in 2023 which found ‘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.
The inclusion of the wolf on the LESPRE had meant that each regional government was able to access ‘generous state funding to finance preventative measures and minimise damage’.
The regions had access to €20 million a year and the cash could be used to compensate farmers who lost livestock to wolves.
WWF conservation coordinator, Luis Suárez had insisted earlier this month that it was necessary to ‘depoliticise the debate around the wolf’ and guarantee its co-existance with rural communities.
At that time he said things were moving in the right direction and it was crucial to maintain this because ‘there is still a lot to do’.
“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 charactistics 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 chromosone of the Iberian wolf, which has never been encountered 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,” added 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.”
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