I have said and written this many times before so why not once again?
The United Kingdom is not a place where you can introduce (it is not a "re-introduction" since these are imported animals) wolves or lynx and even beaver have come under threat, Too many people have firearms that they use for 'sport' each and every night and each and every night across the country hundreds of foxes, badgers and even domestic pets (cats and digs) are killed and the jokey comments amongst these 'sportsmen' of having "bagged a big cat last night -collar said its name was "Dusty"!" are not uncommon.
Release wild cats, wolves and lynx in wild and remote areas? Good idea -that is perfect for poachers. The UK is already pushing its protected badgers to the point where the population will struggle to continue. The same applies to foxes and this cannot go on.
Every night people in towns and cities hear gunshots from wild open areas and green spaces so who is hunting what and firing weapons in such areas carries a high risk of hitting and killing a human. I know of one long time owl observers who will not go into a town's green space any more at night after being left shaken by gun shots near where he was positioned watching a nest. Some late night dog walkers or people just innocently out for a walk after dark also avoid "green areas" because of shooting. One wildlife warden I knew even reported how one night he heard something hit a tree near him -it was a crossbow bolt and he thought that the intended target was a deer.
The only just reason that is given for disposing of a fox is that it threatens live stock. A ridiculous enough argument in the countryside but in a town or city? Head to foot in cammo gear, high power rifles and sniper scopes to shoot a domestic cat sized canid? Surely these people should be volunteering to go fight in the Ukraine?
Where are the wildlife crimes officers of the various police forces while this is all going on -shooters daily post photos of their kills and where online so why is no action being taken? It could be down to a few policemen liking "the shooting sport" so that might be a tad embarrassing for police forces. Also "I heard the shooting and contacted the police who told me that they would pass my report to the wildlife officer -he only works 8AM to 6 PM" is not something you hear rarely either. Wildlife is a good thing to say your force is looking after while being more interested in the tea and latest Greggs purchase.
We are seeing more and more stories of wolves and other species being pushed into extinction by the inaction of Western European governments with their 'strong wildlife and environment protection" stances -money and petty politics will always cause a blind eye to be turned (I never included the United States or Australia here as the systems there are so keyed to killing and corruption that anything surviving there is a miracle).
Now Europe has lost another protected species. Will "new stock" be introduced? WE have been talking about and reporting the killing of wolves in France and Spain since the late 1970s so there have only been, what 45-50 years, to get a grip and do something? Just as the newly released wild cats in the UK are already being chalked up as future "trophies" so will any new wolves released in Spain.
But who cares? We KNOW (and Europe has just experienced the same as the United States) the impact of destroying the environment and what will happen? What is happening: denials and plans that will be implemented.....whenever.
Rest in peace Andalucian wolves. Extinction is forever
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‘Shameful loss’: wolves declared extinct in Andalucía
For centuries, wolves have roamed the mountain ranges of Andalucía in southern Spain, but after years of decline the creature has been officially declared extinct in the region.
Since 2003, the regional government has carried out a census of the wolf (Canis lupus signatus) population in an effort to monitor the species and reduce conflict with the local population, farmers in particular.
However, in a report, the Andalucian government’s environment department says that “since 2020 there has been no sign of the wolf being present in Andalucía”, in spite of it being a protected species.
Up until at least 2010 it was estimated there were six to eight wolfpacks in the region, mostly in the Sierra Morena, comprising up to 56 individuals.
Despite the wolf being declared extinct only now, experts say there has not been any evidence of wolves in Andalucía since 2013, and probably no reproductive group since 2003.
“This is bad news and it confirms the negative trend for the few existing wolfpacks in southern Spain, which are threatened through being physically and genetically isolated from wolves in the rest of Spain, by loss of habitat, poaching and illegal hunting,” said Luis Suárez, the conservation coordinator for the World Wildlife Fund in Spain.
“The shameful loss of wolves in Andalucía is directly related to the lack of political will on the part of the regional government to adopt conservation measures,” Suárez added.
“It’s incomprehensible that, despite a situation that goes back decades, the wolf has not been listed as a species in danger of extinction and there’s been no recovery plan,” he said.
Had it been categorised as in danger of extinction, the Andalucian government would have been legally obliged to take measures to protect the local wolf population.
Suárez said that for years the government had been paralysed by fear of a confrontation with the hunting lobby and livestock farmers and had limited itself to monitoring the wolf population.
“Now it has a responsibility to get to work to guarantee the return of this species to the southern mountains as soon as possible,” he said. “There is no time for excuses.”
Spain has Europe’s largest wolf population. In the mid-19th century there were about 9,000 wolves distributed throughout the country. A policy of eradication meant that by the 1970s only a few hundred remained.
When poisoning was outlawed in the 1970s, the species began to recover. In the most recent census, in 2021, there were between 2,000-2,500 wolves in 297 packs, 90% of which were in the north-west, principally in Castilla y León, Galicia and Asturias, where they enjoyed protected species status that has banned wolf hunting since 2021.
The Spanish government’s wolf recovery plan announced in 2021 aimed for an 18% increase in the population, from 297 to 350 packs. However, a study published last year by the natural history museum in Madrid suggests that official estimates of Spain’s wolf population are overly optimistic and that numbers are much lower than claimed.
“Populations are typically assessed over a period of two years which is insufficient to determine within a significant margin of error whether a population is increasing, in decline or stable,” said Victoria González, a researcher on the project.
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