As “a great day for livestock and for Castilla y Leónand one more day of sadness and amazement in front of a Spanish government that, of course, does not understand the rural environment, does not defend livestock breeding and is contrary to the interests of Castilla y León” This is how the Minister of the Environment, Housing and Regional Planning summed up this Wednesday, Juan Carlos Suarez-Quiñonesthe mixture of sensations seeing how up to 21 countries of the European Union have taken “one step further” so that the the wolf ceases to be a “specially protected” species and becomes simply “protected”. And the fact is that two community territories opposed this flexibility of the status of the canine, one of them being Spain, in addition to Ireland, complained Suárez-Quiñones seeing how the executive of Pedro Sánchez said “no” to the majority position within the Union.
The advisor denounced the position of the socialist government in what he called “an ideological flight forward”. “It is an abandonment of livestock farming and the rural environment of Spain and, of course, of Castilla y León,” criticized Suárez-Qjuiñones, who criticized the fact of being one of the countries that has spoken out “against livestock farming.” agriculture.” and the rural environment. However, he added, “it has not succeeded” in preventing the European Union from continuing “taking steps towards the coexistence of wolves and livestock”.
Although there is still a long way to go, starting with the ratification planned for this Thursday by the EU Council of Ministers of what was agreed at the meeting of the ambassadors of the member countries (Coreper). After that it will be Standing Committee of the Berne Convention – composed of 50 countries – which must give its green light and, from there, transfer it to the European Housing Directive.
But, for the moment, from Castilla y León “gratitude” to the 21 countries that supported the relaxation of protection against canine lupus. And from the Council They see a window of hope for their claims to come true. that the wolf regains the status it had before September 2021, when it became part of the List of Wild Species under Special Protection Regime (Lespre) and also ceased to be huntable, through quotas, in the north of the Duero.
Increased attacks
Precisely, Suárez-Quiñones recalled that the Habitat Directive (1992) determined that the wolf was “strictly protected” in “the whole” of the EU territory, with the exception of the north of this channel and a “small territory” of Greece. And since then, this management of the canid through hunting has had an impact had reached a “balance” between the conservation of the species and the “protection” and “limitation” of damage to extensive breeding. However, in 2021, he criticized “voluntarily”, without a binding European standard and through a “ideological intervention”, the government “has decided to toughen it up”extending the “strict protection” to all of Spain. Castilla y León and the rest of the “wolf” communities, which already opposed this classification of the canid, began a struggle in Europe in search of support to overturn a protection that they had opposed from the beginning.
Something, the adviser lamented, that has “led to a significant increase” in damage to livestock,with 30 percent more attacks that year. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, 1,762 certified raids cost the lives of 2,393 cattle in Castile and León, according to data from the Environment, and with complaints from ranchers who say that “there have never been as many attacks as today.” Some, to the point of throwing in the towel and selling their cattle. Yesterday’s decision, Suárez-Quiñones said, represents “a very important step” to make the Community’s demands a reality.
