Friend or foe? Europe’s largest wolf population divides opinion in Spain and Portugal

Two hunters were convicted of the illegal killing of an Iberian wolf in the first case of its kind as the resurgence of the animal in Spain has inspired love and loathing in equal measure.  

The men, who were not named by a court in Avila in northern Spain, were ordered to pay fines totalling €57,000 (£51,450) for hunting without a licence and for “offences against wildlife”.  

Both were banned from hunting for three years, while one of the men was also convicted of illicit possession of a weapon and handed a six-month suspended jail sentence.  

The conservationists Ecologists in Action and Lobo Marley, which campaigns to protect wolves in Spain, hailed the verdict as a historic victory.

“From now on, a new legal precedent has been set in Spain in the progressive defence and strict protection of the Iberian wolf as has already happened in Portugal for decades,” said Lobo Marley in a statement.  

However, their victory was short-lived as the two defendants successfully appealed against their convictions this week.

The Supreme Court of Castilla y León, a region in northern Spain, ruled that there was “lack of proof” that these two men fired the shots which killed the wolf in 2015.

The case demonstrates the passions which wolves continue to inspire in Spain, where numbers have risen in recent years.

There are currently believed to be some 3,000 wolves in Spain and Portugal, the largest population in Europe.  

However, their survival is still threatened by illegal hunters and hazards like being run over by motorists.  

Lobo Marley estimates that about 300 are thought to have been killed by hunters last year alone.  

Sergi Garcia is a former guide who used to show tourists from across Europe the wolves in Zamora, a region in northwestern Spain which boasts the highest population of Canus lupus signatus. 

“The attitude to wolves has changed immensely in the past 20 years. In areas of Zamora it used to be risky to go to certain bars and say you were tracking wolves as it would provoke anger,” Garcia tells The Independent.  

“Now the same places are selling wolf T-shirts as the animal has become a symbol of the tourist industry.”

Garcia says some areas of Spain allowed the official hunting of wolves while others prohibited the practice.

“What makes a difference is the number of farmers. In Zamora there are not so many farmers any more so wolves are seen as something positive. But in other areas where there are sheep or cattle grazing in open fields, there is considerable animosity towards wolves.”  

Alejandro Posada, a farmer in Peñamellera Baja, a village in Asturias northern Spain, filmed a wolf escaping after it killed one of his sheep during broad daylight.  

“We cannot go on like this. They come in among the houses, without any fear,” he says.  

“After jumping over a wall of about a metre and half high, the wolf killed my sheep. After sating its appetite it had trouble escaping. Most of the farmers are sick of this. I sold most of my sheep and kept only four out for sentimental reasons.”

Angry farmers or hunters have at times exacted gruesome revenge on wolves.  

State prosecutors launched an investigation in 2017 after three wolf carcasses were left in public areas in Asturias, in what was believed to be a grim message from hunters or farmers to the government and environmentalists.  

Hanna Pettersson, a Swedish sociologist who studies human ecology at Leeds University, has toured Spain to study how humans interact with wolves.  

She believes that the country is perfectly suited for the resurgence of the wolf.  

Rural depopulation means humans are less present, allowing a wild animal like the wolf to move more freely.  

Pastoral farming in central and northern areas of Spain, where wolf populations are concentrated, also provides this carnivore with a natural source of food.  

“Some people see wolves as a threat, others as a tourist attraction, and then there are those who appreciate their environmental value,” Pettersson told El País newspaper.  

“Wolves are admired for their beauty, mystery, independence and near-mythical status, but they also inspire fear and hate due to their attacks on livestock.”  

She believes that the conflict between man and the wolf symbolises other clashes in society: “The disconnection between the urban and rural world, a polarisation that is seen in other aspects of society, the friction between authorities and the countryside or the precious traditions of livestock breeders.”

Illegal wolf hunting is a lucrative business in Spain.  

The website Caza en abierto (Open hunting) advertised illegal wolf hunts, asking €3,500 for each animal killed.  

Traps are often used to snare the wolves which are then shot.

The uneasy relationship with wolves is not confined to Spain.  

With the wolf population rising in many parts of Europe, there is growing concern that the numbers should be brought under control.  

In France a cull of 40 wolves was approved in 2018 after a wave of protests.  

When Germany’s population reached 60 packs, the government called for a similar cull.  

Finland has culled its population down to 150 packs, while Norway killed half its population of 100 animals, despite protests from environmentalists.