Special
“I think that ignorance or misinformation leads some groups to question hunting activity; something that also happens with agriculture and livestock”, says the Minister of Water, Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and the Environment
Antonio Luengo, head of the regional Environment portfolio, is perfectly clear about the role that Murcian hunters play in favor of nature, while at the same time being a source of wealth and development for rural areas. This Sunday, he confirms, he will attend the great demonstration in Madrid, called in defense of hunting activity and the rural world.
–What is your position regarding the hunting activity?
-As Minister of the Environment I am convinced that we have to work so that hunting becomes an ally in the protection of the environment. They help us in this work and are watchdogs of nature. They contribute to regulating the populations of some species and, thanks to this, the risks of pest transmission are minimized and the damage to crops and traffic accidents are reduced. Therefore, hunting control is essential and I understand hunters as the ones who are ultimately responsible for caring for the environment. For the Community they are our allies and I want to value the work they do and the responsibility they show.
ARRUI
“The study with the greatest experts in this species will allow us to undertake its naturalization”
–Do you understand the visceral criticism that comes from certain areas?
-Hunting is an ancient activity and their pending task in these times is, surely, to explain to society what they do and how they do it. The need for everyone to know the positive effects of hunting.
–For some groups, hunters are the permanent target of attacks and disqualifications.
-I think that these groups, due to misinformation or ignorance, dare to question the value of hunting. But not only happens with hunting, unfortunately, but also with agriculture or livestock, as we are seeing in our region these days. The only way to reverse this situation is to invest in efforts to inform and educate. That is why I offer the resources and collegiate bodies that we have in the Ministry to see if we are capable, together, of sitting down at a table and defining what is the value and meaning of hunting in our region. We are already working with the federation to define the hunting strategy, which is neither more nor less than defining what hunting we want for the future.
NEW GENERATIONS
“An effort must be made to bring this activity and this sport closer to the classroom”
– Is it a subject that gives you many headaches, due to the opposing positions that any debate generates?
-Not at all. I work in a consistent and organized way with the Hunting Federation and the rest of the groups to unite efforts and achieve synergies, to be able to make decisions with objective bases. For me it is an opportunity to take measures to prevent this magnificent activity from continuing to be reviled. It is a sport that contributes to improving the natural resources of our region. From the Ministry we intend to increase the ecological value of the Region and for that we need the hunters with us.
– Will you attend the demonstration this Sunday in Madrid?
-Of course. And that is a very special day for me, because my oldest son is five years old. But you have to make an effort because the situation requires it. The situation that our hunters are suffering is not fair. Let us remember what has recently happened with the proposal on wolf hunting from the Ministry for Ecological Transition, which is a species that has no incidence in the Region, but with which some lines have been crossed that should never have been crossed. , since each community must be allowed to decide how to manage their natural environment. The Ministry imposes its criteria in areas about which it probably does not have all the necessary knowledge. I will be with all the hunters and with the entire rural world.
ANIMAL WELFARE LAW
«I will leave it as the project seems immature to me, for being moderate and even generous»
– They talk about prohibiting the hunting of certain species, such as the wolf, or of doing it in certain areas, such as national parks, but they hide that the populations must continue to manage them, even if it is by environmental agents. These days it has become known that the Ministry has authorized the killing of 5,000 deer and wild boar in a single month in Cabañeros because these populations had gotten out of hand.
-There is a great lack of knowledge about these issues. It is essential to regulate the populations of these species, so that diseases do not spread… An example is in our Barbary sheep, which is classified as an invasive exotic species and for this reason we have to control its population with environmental agents, since it cannot be manage with the help of hunters. That is why we have promoted a study with the highest experts at the national level, which will allow us to undertake the naturalization of the Barbary sheep. We want to have a tool for hunters to help us control this population, with the savings in public resources that this implies and the benefits that this entails. That is the line to follow.
–Benefits that go beyond the environmental aspect, since they extend to the economic and social aspects.
-Completely. The Region of Murcia, with its more than 1,130 preserves and its more than 18,000 hunters, generates significant economic activity that contributes to sustaining the areas in which it operates. What the sector transmits to us is that there is a problem of generational change, since 72% are over 50 years of age and measures must be put in place to bring this activity and this sport closer to the classroom. That is one of the tasks that we are going to develop together with the Federation.
–The bet is, from what you say, unquestionable.
-We are committed to hunting and we have been adopting important measures for years to support the sector. We have gone from a budget of 35,000 euros in 2019 to 310,000 in 2021, we have requested that hunting be recognized as an essential activity, we have approved the stalking of wild boar from 00:00 to 6:00 in the morning, as requested by hunters , we have positioned ourselves against the new Animal Welfare Law…
– What consideration do you deserve this legislative project?
–Let’s see what adjective I use… I’ll leave it in immature. For being moderate and generous.
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