Spain wildlife management: Calls for hunting bans and boar control

In Spain, different groups are calling for revised wildlife management strategies to address environmental and agricultural concerns. The political party PACMA has urged regional governments to ban hunting as a measure to prevent forest fires. They argue that prohibiting hunting would allow herbivore populations, such as deer and wild goats, to recover and naturally graze on vegetation, thereby reducing fuel for fires. PACMA also contends that hunting activities themselves can be a source of wildfires.

In the Girona region, the agricultural union Unió de Pagesos is demanding a comprehensive wildlife control plan to manage the overpopulation of wild boars. The union highlighted that current measures in private hunting areas have failed to meet capture targets, posing risks to crops, livestock health, and road safety. They are calling for year-round hunting permissions, including after harvests, and have requested the government to publish density monitoring data for the 2024-2025 season.