Northern Portugal farmers demand compensation after wolf attacks on livestock

Farmers in the Trás‑os‑Montes region of northern Portugal report a series of wolf attacks on their livestock in the mountains of Marão and Alvão. On a farm in Currais, Vila Real, Manuel and Eunice Domingues lost a donkey at around 06:00 h, marking the third confirmed attack since 2010. A neighboring village, Foz, reported the killing of two ponies the same day.

The farmers notified the Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas (ICNF), which visited the site and offered a compensation of €100 per animal – an amount the victims say does not reflect the value of a work animal. Representing the AGRITAD – Associação de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento e Gestão Agrária de Trás‑os‑Montes e Alto Douro – Manuel Domingues called for a per‑head subsidy increase and a revision of funding to allow farmers to protect their herds, either by better fencing, extra feed, or controlled pasturing, while also supporting Iberian wolf conservation.

The association urges authorities to identify wolf pack locations and provide targeted financial aid, arguing that current measures are insufficient to deter future incidents and to maintain the coexistence of agriculture and the protected wolf population.