They agglutinate in their territories 95% of the litter of Iberian wolves existing in Spain. And they feel they have the "legitimate" right to carry out a common front against the Order approved by the
Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge
to prohibit them from hunting them under any circumstances. The ranchers of these regions have lived "with very positive results" for decades with these specimens, so today in Santander they staged a 'common front' to announce a long and intense legal battle and mobilizations: "We are not going to allow more subjugation ", assured the councilors of the agricultural field of Cantabria, Asturias, Galicia and Castilla y León. They are 28% of the total territory of the country and add up to more than seven million inhabitants. And they are not alone.
In the first place, they were supported in the meeting by the set of most representative agrarian organizations and all the 'sensitivities' without exception: Asaja, UPA and COAG. But the fact is that in addition, the Cantabrian president
Miguel Ángel Revilla
also appeared to greet them and give a greater highlight to the protest act
: "I am confident that the courts understand that this issue is very serious and that farmers are the main defenders of the environment", He stressed to warn that Cantabria "is going to give a very tough battle." They have already done the first step: these four most affected regions have submitted their corresponding resources to the order that includes the wolf in the List of Wild Species of Special Protection (Lespre).They ask
for precautionary measures
to suspend the effectiveness of the rule during the processing of the procedure and will take the case to Europe. Thus, they will ask for a meeting with the European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries,
Virginijus Sinkevicius
, to expose the "attack" of the Government of Spain, "which has gone beyond what Europe itself wants to go."
With whom both the representatives of these autonomous communities and the agrarian organizations are really upset is with the Minister of Agriculture,
Luis Planas
, who first criticized the rule in February when the measure was known ("as a minister, I do not agree and I share the concern of the farmers and I am at their side ") to support it when it was approved in the Council of Ministers last week:" In the Executive we are all together in decision-making. "
The Cantabrian councilor, Guillermo Blanco, explicitly showed his "deep disappointment" with Planas.
EXEMPLARY IN INCREASE
For these regions, the species currently enjoys "good health", as evidenced by the number of specimens that has been
increasing throughout Spain in recent years.
(currently around 2,500, more than the European average). For this reason, they have urged Minister Teresa Ribera to "not be afraid" and to establish a dialogue table with these autonomous communities. "It is not necessary to remember that our objective is not to kill the wolf, we are absolutely respectful with the conservation of a species of community interest," said Blanco. "This measure is loaded with the model that has allowed to reach a wolf population that is the envy of many countries", has assured the Castilian-Leon councilor Juan Carlos Suárez, who has criticized that "for the first time in the history of democracy" has taken a measure of this type without counting on the affected territories: "It cannot be decided in this authoritarian way and despising the territories,politically it is unsustainable, "he added.
Meanwhile, the Asturian councilor, Alejandro Calvo, praised the management plans of these communities in the north of the country, which should be a "reference" and which have achieved a "perfect balance" despite the difficult situation that the coexistence between the wolf and the livestock. Even so, all have agreed: "
There remains a long battle
; we have no other choice and they gave us no alternative," said the Galician councilor, Galicia, Ángeles Vázquez, who criticized that the Government had not even included in the Order a transitional period.
The Asturian owner, Jesús Calvo, lamented the "great legal uncertainty" that has been created and that has paralyzed the possibilities of managing the communities, which he believes have "reasons, documentation and legal bases" to turn the situation around.
Calvo also stressed that "our position cannot be caricatured or the image that we are not responsible transferred" to add that "if rural people feel that they are not taken into account in the policies that affect them, we would have a big problem. "The head of Livestock of Cantabria has stressed that they will not allow" this obligation "to mean" despising the ranchers ", who" have their way of life threatened by the expansion of the wolf and its increase in population. "
SECTOR MOBILIZATIONS
Meanwhile, the unity of action also comes from the agrarian organizations. The national president of Asaja, Pedro Barato, the general secretary of UPA, Román Santallana, and the head of livestock at COAG, Charo Redondo, were present at the agreement to support these autonomous communities and agreed that they felt "
very disappointed and deceived
" by the Government: "A lot of Spain emptied, but the measures go against rural Spain," said Barato, like Redondo, who reproaches the Government that "they are emptying it themselves." All of them announced imminent
mobilizations
of the livestock sector against the government's decision.
In Spain there are between 2,000 and 2,500 specimens (the official census is not updated) grouped into 297 herds that are distributed almost entirely - more than 95% - on the northwestern corner of the peninsula.
In 2020, more than 15,000 attacks by wolves against livestock were recorded with losses of more than 9.5 million euros, according to agricultural organizations.
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