Villafáfila (Zamora), Feb 2 (EFE).- The Junta de Castilla y León has advanced this Thursday that the new census of the Iberian wolf in the Community prepared by the Environment area reveals a “substantial increase” in the packs of the species, according to the Minister for the Environment, Housing and Territorial Planning, Juan Carlos Suárez-Quiñones.
The regional head of the Environment has assured that, contrary to what the Government of Spain maintains, it is “proven and proven” that the species is experiencing a wide expansion in the four Autonomous Communities that are home to more than 95 percent of the population of wolves in Spain: Castilla y León, Galicia, Asturias and Cantabria.
These four communities have commissioned studies of the evolution of the species in their territories and, after knowing the data from Galicia, Suárez-Quiñones has advanced that the study of Castilla y León, which is about to be completed, highlights a « constant growth» of wolf specimens compared to the census carried out in the years 2011-2012.
In his opinion, “it would not even be necessary to take an inventory” because the “remarkable” increase in the wolf population in Castilla y León is “a notorious truth that should be exempted from proof”, Suárez-Quiñones has declared to questions from the journalists on a visit to the Villafáfila lagoons (Zamora).
He has indicated that this increase is verified by the farmers and mayors of the areas that habitually coexist with the wolf, for which he has described as “erroneous information” the data provided by the Government of Spain in the catalog of the species for it to be included in the List of Wild Species under Special Protection Regime and thus prohibit their recreational hunting north of the Duero.
Based on this, the counselor has opined that the management of the wolf has been “stolen” from the Autonomous Communities, which has gone “to the detriment of extensive livestock farming, rural development and the life of our towns”, he has warned .
Regarding the letter sent this Wednesday to the European Commission by twelve countries, including Spain, so that the protection of the wolf is maintained, Suárez-Quiñones has emphasized that there are fifteen other European countries that have not signed that letter.
For the head of the Environment in Castilla y León, the letter responds to the fact that the central government is looking for support wherever it can to “try to launder this action against the rural environment and extensive livestock farming” and it does so by seeking support in territories that do not have the wolf problem
He has defended a “balance” between the conservation of the wolf and extensive livestock and has accused the Government of Spain of “making the fat broth” in this matter to “minority and radical” conservationist associations.