The Junta de Castilla y León appointed on 15 October 2026 Marco Criado Nicolás to the Director General de Caza, Pesca y del Medio Rural appointed. Government spokesperson Carlos Fernández Carriedo announced the appointment after the Consejo de Gobierno meeting. The directorate is part of the department for Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development and Environmental Policy headed by Joaquín Antonio Pino and falls under Vox’s remit.
The appointment follows the dismissal of the previous office-holder Ignacio de la Fuente Cabria. The decision is dated 1 October 2026; it was published through the official channel on 2 October 2026. Regional media cited an explanation from the Junta, which said the change was for organisational reasons.
According to the regional government, Marco Criado Nicolás holds a degree in Environmental Science and a doctorate in Geology. He is involved in teaching at the Universidad de Salamanca . Public information lists him as the owner or lessee of three hunting estates. Between 2021 and 2025, he managed hunting estates and worked as a hunting consultant for the Federación de Caza de Salamanca .
Politically, the directorate falls within a legislative term in which department head Joaquín Antonio Pino had announced at the outset that the use of clip-on night-vision devices for hunting would be legally permitted as part of approved population-control measures. The announcement was controversial in the region. In connection with the personnel decision, the Junta has so far presented no specific new regulations or changes to hunting and fishing law.
In the short term, appointing a director is expected above all to ensure continuity in administrative processes. The policy direction of the Directorate-General for Hunting, Fishing and Rural Development will depend on the priorities the new leadership sets in the coming weeks in consultation with the department’s senior leadership. The Junta de Castilla y León announced that it would document the organisational changes in the official gazette and in official communications.
The facts cited here are based on the public announcement by the Junta de Castilla y León and regional media reports dated 15 October 2026; the dates given for the dismissal and publication are 1 and 2 October 2026.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).