The Iberian wolf (Canis lupus) has been included in the list of protected species in Spain this Tuesday, 21 September, so that starting tomorrow its hunting will be prohibited throughout the whole of the country.

The order was published in the BOE Official State Gazette. The protected species list (Lespre) and the Spanish catalogue of threatened species have been modified as a result of the decision.

Up until now, wolf hunting was allowed north of the Duero river, while it was prohibited south of this river, where the it was already included in the Lespre list.

The regions of Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and Castilla y León, where 95 per cent of the specimens of the Iberian wolf live, have protested the decision and have announced that they will appeal the decision through the courts.

The UCCL hunting association in Castilla y León has also criticised the decision and warned that it will mean that the region will not be able to control the population of this species in areas that require it, through "effective and controlled" hunting.

It claims that in 2020 in Castilla y León 4,500 attacks by wolves were recorded that caused the death of 6,000 head of cattle, not counting the injured and / or missing animals, nor the abortions that occur as a result of the stress they are subjected to after an attack.

The association estimates the losses to the farmers of Castilla y León at more than 5 million euros every year and the authorities only compensate for a around 20 per cent of the losses.

"This situation is becoming unsustainable for farmers now that it will not be possible to carry out a population control of the wolf, and it will pose a serious threat to the survival of the livestock farms", said the organisation.