Objective 2021: protect the Iberian wolf.
There are few data on the population of wolves in Spain, the last ones were recorded between 2012 and 2014, when some 297 groups distributed among 91,620 km2 were estimated . This is how ASCEL, the Association for the Conservation and Study of the Iberian wolf, collects it.** 93% of them live between Castilla y León, Galicia, Asturias and Cantabria**.
For a decade, the wolf has been experiencing a transcendental period in its history, because, as ecologists and biologists affirm, the species is threatened, mainly by hunting, either for hunting purposes or for population control. Without going any further, the regional government of Cantabria has announced that it will allow the hunting of 34 specimens in the 2020-2021 season, as confirmed by ASCEL.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Ecological Transition plans to increase its protection, stopped since 2015, since the wolf is not protected from the Duero upwards, where each autonomous community applies its own rules. This new regulation would also want to incorporate it into the List of Wild Species in Special Protection Regime (LESPRE). In that case Hunting and population control would only be allowed through this method in special cases.
Even so, the ASCEL, Ecologists in Action and WWF associations do not trust these promises due to pressure from groups of farmers and ranchers from the main autonomous communities where they ask for population control to be carried out and where they estimate the attacks on their cattle above than conservation organizations do.
“The wolf is responsible for less than 1% of damage to extensive livestock , since most of the casualties are due to the weather or illnesses, ”they point out from WWF. And they add that "the number of casualties caused by wolf attacks, although each of them painful and costly for each farmer, it is not a high figure globally being lower than the casualties that can occur due to other causes such as diseases, attacks by wild dogs, etc.".
Today, according to the organization, The exact and real data on the number of attacks are not known since they are not counted globally and because the different damage compensation systems mean that not all of them are reported, or more are reported than they really are.
"For example, in Castilla y León, north of the Duero, farmers must have private insurance to collect compensation , so those farmers who decide not to pay the insurance do not report the damage. However, south of the Duero, damages are paid for without the need for insurance."
FIGHTING AGAINST MYTHS
through the campaign 'I defend the wolf' , WWF claims the Iberian wolf benefits and asks the administrations to promote coexistence with farmers. "We ask for a change in the management model of the species, more in tune with our time , that bets on the reduction of damage instead of the lethal control of the wolf and that takes into account the role of the species in ecosystems and its benefits. With the campaign** #YoDefiendoAlLobo** we make known these benefits, unknown in many cases, and all the reasons why it is necessary to protect the species", they explain to Traveler.es.
in his manifesto 'All that the wolf gives us' they want to end some of the myths surrounding the wolf. For example, that it is not a threat to people because it does not hunt for fun but for necessity . Did you know that wolves live in family clans capable of adopting orphaned pups or that take care of the oldest and weakest to prevent them from starving?
WWF also highlights the importance of the wolf for the balance of the ecosystem . "Although the predominant vision and story is that the wolf is an enemy of livestock, this does not correspond to reality. The presence of wolves in livestock areas also generate profits for the sector , more indirect and less obvious, but relevant, controlling populations of wild animals that can pass diseases to livestock, such as tuberculosis", they underline.
The wolf acts as a toilet in nature , because together with other scavengers and vultures, it devours the carcasses of animals avoiding the spread of diseases. In addition, it is the only one capable of controlling wild boar populations.
For this reason, and because hunting is its main threat, they have launched a campaign to protect it. If you want to help you can leave your signature in this link.