Iberian wolf: compensation for livestock farmers now has a 20-working-day deadline

The Government has determined that compensation for damages caused by the Iberian wolf to livestock shall be processed within a maximum period of 20 working days, with payment occurring by the end of the following month. The measure, effective as of January 1, 2027, was established by Order No. 11319/2026, signed on September 8 by the Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, and the Minister of Agriculture and Sea, José Manuel Fernandes, and published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 179, of September 15, 2026.

The joint order responds to a problem recognized by the executive itself: the administrative and financial procedures necessary for the assessment of losses, decision, and payment of compensation can currently extend for several months. This delay is considered unfair to livestock producers and detrimental to the populations of the territories where the Iberian wolf occurs, aggravating the economic impact of the attacks, particularly on smaller farms and extensive production systems.

Legal Framework

The protection of the Iberian wolf and the State’s responsibility for compensating directly affected citizens date back to Law No. 90/88, of August 13. The regime for reporting, verifying, and compensating for damages is defined by Decree-Law No. 54/2016, of August 25, in its current wording.

The Government has been successively strengthening the compensation regime:

• Decree-Law No. 122/2025, of November 19, clarified technical aspects for the assessment of damages and the determination of compensatory support.
• Order No. 14506/2025, of December 5, updated the maximum compensation values per animal, bringing them closer to market values and determining their annual update.
• Decree-Law No. 158/2026, of August 4, expanded the compensable situations, specifically to cases of missing animals and animals under one month of age, and eliminated the progressive reduction of the unit value of compensation in successive attacks.

Execution and Deadlines

The execution of the measure is the responsibility of two public institutes. The Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests, I. P. (ICNF, I. P.) intervenes in the receipt of reports, verification of damages, instruction, and decision of the processes; the Institute for Financing of Agriculture and Fisheries, I. P. (IFAP, I. P.) ensures the financial processing and payment.

Under the terms of the order, ICNF, I. P. and IFAP, I. P. have 90 days from the date of entry into force to review the technical, IT, and financial procedures applicable to the reporting of occurrences, assessment of losses, instruction and decision of processes, and payment of compensation, with a view to strengthening automation and ensuring compliance with the new deadline.

Operational objective

The setting of the deadline fulfills an objective of the Alcateia Program 2025-2035, approved by Order no. 14505/2025, of December 5, which established as an operational objective to ensure the expeditious functioning of the compensation system for wolf damages. Measure 2.2.1. of the program provides for the revision, simplification, and acceleration of procedures, assigning responsibility for their execution to ICNF, I. P. and IFAP, I. P.

The order enters into force on the day following its publication, having been issued under paragraph 1 of article 25 and paragraph 2 of article 27 of Decree-Law no. 87-A/2025, of July 25.

By ensuring a swift and predictable response to affected breeders, the measure seeks to strengthen community confidence in public compensation mechanisms and, consequently, the social acceptance of the Iberian wolf’s presence and the conservation of the species itself, balancing the protection of the predator with the sustainability of livestock farming.

Source: Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 179, of September 15, 2026 (official reference: Order no. 11319/2026).