2/12/2021

https://www.agriculture.com/markets/newswire/spains-wolf-hunting-ban-sparks-bitter-debate-in-rural-north

By Vincent West

ERRIGOITI, Spain, Feb 12 (Reuters) – A ban on wolf hunting in Spain’s rural north is ratcheting up tension between agriculture and conservation, pitting farmers who fear for their livelihood against environmentalists who applaud the move.

Following a decision by the Environment Ministry last Thursday, protections for the Iberian wolf in the south of Spain will be extended north of the Douro river, where controlled hunting had still been allowed.

“We think it’s a great success,” said Nerea Larrabe, who manages the Basondo animal refuge in the northern Basque region, where hunting will soon be outlawed.

“It’s legislating to make sure an important species from our environment doesn’t disappear,” she told Reuters.

Since the 1960s Spain’s Iberian wolf population has rebounded from a few hundred to an estimated 1,500-2,000, with more than 90% of the population concentrated in the north.

As apex predators, wolves help…