The policy on the management of wild animal control by the Government of Extremadura has taken a 180 degree turn since María Guardiola took office as president, just over six months ago.
Specifically, as it affects the Monfragüe National Park (Cáceres).
The first change occurred last September, since until then hunters could not enter this place and since then entry was allowed with some conditions.
Now the twist is different: the Government of Extremadura is considering having hunters enter together with rehalas [a group of hunting dogs] to help them capture deer and wild boar.
And this despite the fact that Teresa Rivera, Minister of Ecological Transition, has recalled on more than one occasion that the law prohibits hunting activity in National Parks, a regulation in force since the time of Mariano Rajoy.
During the electoral campaign, the popular president launched an order to the hunting sector with the commitment that they were going to hunt again in this natural space, a promise that she made effective in one of her first acts as the main regional official.
In September, at the hunting fair in Badajoz, the president informed this group that the Administration authorized hunting activities as long as they were non-profit and with the aim of controlling the ungulate population.
The Extremaduran Government stressed that with this the head of the Extremaduran Executive fulfilled one of the main commitments included in the document 'Political Responsibility for Hunting' promoted by the Extremaduran Hunting Federation (Fedexcaza).
"The objective is to achieve the necessary ecological balance to avoid damage to the flora and fauna and also to protect livestock from the effects that some species, such as wild boars, may have on animal health, as they are transmitters of diseases such as tuberculosis that "They can become a real public health problem," said President Guardiola.
A position that earned him a reprimand from the Ministry of Ecological Transition, which recalled that the current law did not allow it.
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Now the Government of Extremadura goes one step further and proposes in the new Master Plan for Use and Management (PRUG) of Monfragüe the use of loose dogs to help hunters get wild boars and deer out of the places where they are hidden.
The PRUG does not determine whether this use of loose dogs should be done on public or private properties, since the regional government says that it is something that must be established in the Selective Action Plan that will be approved once the new Master Plan is in force. .
The autonomous Administration assures that it is committed to hunting activity in the National Park for the purposes of population control and for now it will be authorized on public properties and emphasizes that this would be the first strategic step for hunting to become a sustainable management tool. and effective conservation.
The regional government has assured that it will continue to listen to the demands of the hunting sector and has explained that it understands that they want to extend the activity to private farms, but it is advisable to go step by step.
This new regulation, in any case, must be approved, since it is valid for ten years and the current one expires this February.
Until the entry into the Government of the PP and Vox coalition, the capture of species had been carried out through a contract with the public company TRAGSA through the installation of cages and fences and the subsequent selective slaughter, something that the leaders consider current ones that have not been effective.
The president of the Board, María Guardiola, referred to this at the Iberian Hunting, Fishing and Nature Fair (FECIEX): “The controls carried out with selective cages for wild boars or the creation of small enclosures have proven insufficient.”
Conservation organizations do not agree with that statement.
SEO BirdLife Extremadura assures that the success rate with the capture system has been 70% in deer and 90% in wild boar.
Its regional delegate, Marcelino Cadalliaguet, says that in two years it cannot be determined whether a method is successful or not, something that the current administration is trying to justify.
“The use of hunting dogs to help control deer and wild boar is not appropriate because it was already being done until 2022, where there was a secret agreement with private properties for annual hunting actions to be carried out, it was never managed to control these animals and it is from 2022 when in application of the National Park law all types of hunting actions are prohibited and other types of methods begin to be used," they explain from SEO BirdLife.
The law says that administrations have to intervene as little as possible in a Natural Park.
"In this case it has to be done, since it is necessary to control species that do not have their natural predator, but what is not justified is that we have to use the options with the greatest impact on nature such as the release of dogs, when There are other alternatives such as stalking [a type of hunting that is practiced on foot and involves a single hunter and a guard] or awaiting [a type of hunting practiced by a single hunter who waits in a fixed position for the big game to arrive. within their reach] that is not so invasive and aggressive,” explains Cardalliaguet.
From this association they believe that these decisions denote a change in policies, returning to the previous status of 2022, and even opening the door to organizing hunts again.
SEO BirdLife also warns that the Master Plan for the Use and Management of the Monfragüe National Park presented by the Government of Extremadura has several deficiencies, which is why they believe they invalidate the procedure.
Firstly, a draft with modifications is presented, but it is not detailed, so the information is not clear, as required, and there is also no final monitoring report on a law that now expires, which is necessary.
Finally, they emphasize that the laws must be complied with in all cases, not only when it is convenient, and currently hunting actions cannot be carried out in the National Parks.
“What has to prevail above all is the conservation of the Monfragüe National Park,” insists Cardalliaguet.
The Government of Extremadura has not responded to a series of questions raised by EL PAÍS about this new Master Plan for the Use and Management of Monfragüe.
For its part, from the opposition political groups, the PSOE says that it is necessary that the steps taken be supervised by the competent body in National Parks.
“The legislation does not allow commercial hunting, it is necessary that there be consensus between all parties,” said its deputy Valerio Rodríguez.
Meanwhile, from Unidas por Extremadura, its spokesperson Irene de Miguel considers that these decisions correspond more to the hunting
lobby
in the region than to scientific conservation measures.
Guardiola is very good at lying to Extremadurans. She said that what was proposed in Monfragüe was not commercial hunting, but rather hunting management and population control. She has shown us that with this decision what really exists Behind it is commercial hunting,” says De Miguel.
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