Amigos de la Tierra La Rioja accuses the regional government of a lack of transparency. Shortly before the start of the new hunting season for the wolf the organisation is calling for the immediate publication of the latest wolf census and the report that the government of La Rioja is said to have sent to the European Commission The complaint was filed with the Consejo de Transparencia y Buen Gobierno .
The criticism is directed at the Consejería de Agricultura, Ganadería, Mundo Rural y Medio Ambiente. According to the environmental organisation, the department provided only data on damage and compensation up to 2024, but did not disclose either the full regional wolf census or the assessment report sent to Brussels. Both documents are relevant to decision-making, however, because the administration decides on hunting measures and possible culls.
The Government of La Rioja refers in its own statements and parliamentary documents to a more recent census confirming the wolf’s spread across the region. According to the census, the species has been recorded in numerous municipalities; several packs and individual passing animals are mentioned. The Consejería has only described some of the specific figures, methods and area units in the census publicly. According to Amigos de la Tierra La Rioja, a complete release of the dataset is still unavailable.
The conflict is politically and legally sensitive in Spain. In March 2026, the government in La Rioja authorised a limited population-control intervention involving up to four animals. At the same time, farming associations are calling for reliable evidence of damage as a basis for compensation, while conservation groups are pressing for a transparent, scientifically robust wolf census. The wolf’s conservation status, monitored by the European Commission, is also the subject of ongoing reports from several autonomous governments.
If the Consejería fails to meet its disclosure obligations, the transparency dispute could escalate into a legal battle and further strain relations between the administration, livestock farmers and conservationists. At the same time, debate over hunting and control measures would intensify in the absence of disclosed data. The information about the wolf’s presence mentioned here is based on official statements by the Gobierno de La Rioja and figures cited at meetings of the Parliament of La Rioja; a complete, freely accessible version of the wolf census was not available by press time.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).