La gestión del lobo en España. Controversias científicas en torno a su caza

Abstract

RESUMEN:El lobo (Canis lupus) disminuyó en España durante gran parte del siglo XX. Pero a partir de los años 70, comenzó una recuperación que ha continuado hasta la actualidad, cuando se estima la presencia de más de 2.000 ejemplares en unos 115.000 km 2 del cuadrante noroccidental español. Los conflictos con el ganado convierten al lobo en una especie polémica y obligan a su control en algunas zonas de España. Su gran capacidad de adaptación y su elevado potencial reproductivo permiten su explotación cinegética. Sin embargo, el lobo es una especie simbólica en un importante sector de la población, lo que añade complejidad a la regulación de su caza y a toda su gestión. Este artículo describe la gestión del lobo en las distintas comunidades autónomas españolas y los aspectos ecológicos y sociales que explican el conflicto del lobo. Mediante una revisión bibliográfica, discutimos el papel de la caza y el turismo del lobo en el desarrollo rural, y se presentan los debates actuales sobre si la caza mejora la percepción del lobo y reduce el furtivismo y los daños al ganado.PALABRAS CLAVE: Canis lupus; caza; caza ilegal; conflictos; daños al ganado; gestión; lobo; percepciones del lobo; turismo.ABSTRACT: Wolves (Canis lupus) were decreasing in Spain for much of the twentieth century, but from the 1970's, they began a recovery that has been going on until today. Nowadays, there are more than 2,000 wolves across 115,000 km 2 of the northwestern quadrant of Spain. Wolves are controversial because of the conflicts with livestock and are, therefore, culled in some areas of Spain. Their great adaptability and high reproductive potential allow the sustainable wolf harvest as a game species. However, the wolf is a symbol for different sectors of the public, which complicates wolf hunting regulations and its management. This article describes wolf management in the different Spanish autonomous regions and the ecological, social and administrative factors involved in the wolf conflict. Through a literature review, I discuss the role of hunting and wolf tourism in rural development, and I introduce the current debate on whether hunting improves the perception of the wolf and reduces poaching and damage to livestock.

Wolf Media Coverage in the Region of Castilla y León (Spain): Variations over Time and in Two Contrasting Socio-Ecological Settings

“…As a result, these events often receive wider media attention and contribute to polarising the discussion [14,32]. This coincides with my findings, which show that nearly all of the articles focusing on the south of the Castilla y León region, where wolves have recently colonised new areas and caused increasing livestock losses [16,19], dealt with the relationships between the canid and livestock. The fact that the wolf was the main focus in most of these documents and that the wolf attracted disproportionate attention in relation to its abundance in the south of the River Douro may also point to the problematic media portrayal of the canid in this part of the study area.…”

“…Both farming and hunting associations, as well as the regional government, have repeatedly requested the EU and the Spanish government to declare the wolf as a game species also in the southern part of Castilla y León. Castilla y León holds >50% of the Spanish wolf packs [16]. In 2012-2013, there were 152 and 27 packs in the north and the south of the River Douro, respectively [18].…”

“…The grey wolf (Canis lupus) often attracts considerable media attention [14] because debates about its presence, impacts, and management are very often contentious [15,16]. This is likely the reason why wolf media coverage has been increasingly investigated (e.g., [2,17]).…”

“…My main goal in this study was to explore the evolution of topics surrounding the wolf in a newspaper published in Castilla y León (northern Spain), the region with the largest number of wolf packs in the country [16]. My goals also included assessing variations in wolf framing over time, between different areas and across articles featuring wolves as a primary or secondary topic.…”

“…The wolf is strictly protected in the part of the region below the River Douro, while it is a game species in the north. Although the number of wolves is considerably higher in the north [18], most reported attacks on livestock take place in the south [19] where wolves have colonised some new areas in recent years [16]. I suspected that these notable differences may have resulted in variations in wolf media coverage between sub-regions.…”