The Spanish parliament has voted to lift the 2021 hunting ban on wolves, driven by a coalition led by the conservative People's party alongside the Vox party. An amendment claimed that wolves contribute to significant food waste by preying on livestock, despite critics questioning the accuracy of these figures. Conservation groups, including WWF, decried the decision as politically motivated and lacking scientific backing, potentially enabling the unchecked killing of wolves and disrupting the balance between agriculture and wildlife. Stable wolf populations contradict pro-hunting claims of overpopulation, revealing ongoing tensions between conservation efforts and agricultural interests.
"Today the parliament has presided over what is a dark day for nature conservation in Spain, using an underhand method and without any scientific justification to leave wolves unprotected."
"The WWF believes that a decision it said is based on political opportunism opens the way for the indiscriminate slaughter of wolves and undermines the progress made on coexistence between farming and wildlife."
"Taking the wolf off the list of protected species in this way doesn't help anyone. The only policy that benefits everyone must be based on coexistence."
"...the population explosion of wolf packs predicted by the pro-hunting lobby has not materialised. Numbers have remained stable in the north-west..."
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