A necropsy will be performed
The presence of two specimens in the Alcaiz region, with several attacks on herds, has caused outrage among ranchers and agrarian organizations that ask that they be removed from an area where there have never been wolves.
Maintenance operators of the General Directorate of Roads of the Government of Aragon have found a dead wolf on Monday, with signs of having been hit by a heavy vehicle, in the vicinity of the Teruel town of Alcaiz.
Everything indicates that it is one of the two specimens that have been seen in the Bajo Aragón region and that in recent weeks have sometimes attacked flocks of sheep from livestock farms in Alcaiz, Andorra, Valmuel and Pugmorneo, in the Teruel province. The most serious attack took place a few days ago in Valmuel, which left 15 sheep dead. and at least 13 other injuries.
These attacks generated concern and protests in the sector, for which reason ranchers, agricultural organizations and some political parties have requested that the specimens be removed from the area where there have usually been no wolves.
Nature Protection agents have identified the dead animal at the site, a male wolf of Iberian origin, which they had located, along with a female, for months.
His death would have taken place while he was crossing the N-232, near the Motorland Alcaiz circuit, when he was run over by a large vehicle, probably a truck, in view of how the body was found.
Nevertheless, The cause of death will have to be determined by necropsy. which is going to be carried out at the Center for the Recovery of Wild Fauna in La Alfranca (Zaragoza), where the body has been transferred.
The animal run over would be one of the two wolves sighted in Bajo Aragón so far this year, so there would still be another female wolf in the area. The existence of two specimens was confirmed by technicians from the Department of Agriculture, Livestock and the Environment of the Aragonese Government to the farmers in a meeting held last week.
2.5 MILLION IN AID
Aragón presented allegations and appealed the decree that declared the wolf a protected species and prohibited its hunting. The conservationist association Lobo Aragón has verified the expansion of the species in this autonomous community.
At least two females of Iberian origin have been detected south of the Ebro, one in the province of Zaragoza and another in Teruel, which will be added to the animals of Franco-Italian origin already recognized in the Monegros, Jacetania and Ribagorza regions. .
For this reason, the Government of Aragon, which has always been in favor of ranchers, grants aid to alleviate the effects of the presence of the wolf and the bear. The total aid paid already amounts to more than 2.5 million euros.
The last call contemplated aid of 550,000 euros to farmers with farms where the presence of bears and wolves has been demonstrated continuously. Farmers are eligible for the subsidy whether or not they have suffered an attack.
This aid is not limited to paying the farmer for the dead sheep and material damage, but is paid for the total number of heads of cattle on the farm and self-protection measures are subsidized.
For this same reason, in the case of the wolf, the farmer does not have to prove whether the attack suffered is from this animal or from a feral dog, but rather the right to help is recognized for having his farm in an area where he lives. the carnivore.
Since this “pioneering” aid system was launched in 2018, the sector has received more than 2.5 million euros, through five calls. Last year, 130 farmers benefited from this aid and 38 localities are eligible for this aid,
In the last call, as a novelty, the purchase of tracking devices for livestock (GPS) will be subsidized. The maximum amount will be calculated based on the size of the livestock farm, established based on the number of heads, with a maximum eligible limit of 2,000 heads and a minimum of 100.
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