Asturias approves wolf control for 2026-2027 with a quota of 67 specimens

The Regional Ministry of Rural Environment and Agricultural Policy of the Principality of Asturias has approved the Wolf Control Action Program 2026-2027, which authorizes the removal of up to 67 specimens across the region. The resolution, signed on August 26, 2026, by Minister Marcelino Marcos Líndez, is published in the Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias (BOPA) number 170 of September 2, 2026 (official reference 2026-07260).

The program complies with Decree 23/2015, which approves the II Wolf Management Plan in Asturias, and its modification carried out by Decree 48/2026, of June 29, which regulates control programs and removal measures. The document is based on the report “Estimation of the Wolf Population in Asturias by breeding units, year 2025”, prepared by the Directorate General for Agricultural Planning, and was reviewed by the Consultative Committee of the Wolf Management Plan at its meeting on August 24, 2026.

A census of 50 packs and rising damages

The program is based on a census of at least 50 confirmed packs in 2025, of which 46 show confirmed reproduction, with a minimum estimated population of 412 specimens. In parallel, damages to livestock continue to grow: in 2025, 3,893 heads of livestock were affected, the highest figure in the series, with a notable increase in the areas of Palo-Esva (1,022 heads), Central-East (421), and the Areas Without Specific Management (1,006, a 73% increase compared to 2024). Compensation paid for these damages reached 1,911,171.58 euros in 2025.

Quotas by management zones

The program breaks down the removal quotas for each of the seven specific management zones and for the areas of sporadic presence:

• Northwestern: 7 specimens
• Palo-Esva: 8 specimens
• Southwestern: 4 specimens
• Central-Western: 8 specimens
• Central: 8 specimens
• Central-East: 9 specimens
• Picos (outside the National Park): 5 specimens
• Areas Without Specific Management: 18 specimens

The total of 67 wolves out of the 412 censused represents a maximum controlled mortality percentage of 16.26%, below the critical annual threshold of 22-29% identified by scientific literature as dangerous for population stability.

Methods, periods, and validity

Controls will be carried out by the Environmental Agents of the Principality, under the supervision of the General Directorate of Agricultural Planning through the Wildlife Service. The basic method will be stalking or ambush around the den, supported by hunts in Regional Hunting Reserves, limited drives in areas of non-permanent presence and, in exceptional cases, live capture and removal of litters. Captures will be concentrated in two periods—September to December and January to April—with individualized actions from May to August targeting specimens causing repeated damage.

The program will be in effect from its publication in the BOPA until December 31, 2027, extendable until March 31, 2028, and may be modified based on the evolution of population data, damages, and social conflict.

The approval comes after years of stalled controls—suspended since 2021 due to the inclusion of the wolf in the LESPRE and reactivated following Law 1/2025 and Supreme Court Ruling 117/2026—and places Asturias before the challenge of balancing the conservation of the species with the protection of extensive livestock farming, a key sector for the Asturian rural environment.

Source: Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias, no. 170 of September 2, 2026, I. Principality of Asturias, Other Provisions, pp. 1-24 (official reference: 2026-07260).