The agrarian organizations and associations COAG-Asturias, Asaja, UCA, Usaga, Aseava, Aseamo, Acoxa, Acpra, Aceca and Acriber have welcomed that the new scale of damages for wildlife elaborated by the Ministry of Rural Environment and Agricultural Policy includes part of the joint allegations they had presented. However, they warn that the definitive text still presents "important shortcomings" and demand to maintain the negotiation to address the aspects that remain unresolved.
In a press release, they explain that the document sent by the Ministry of Rural Environment incorporates "key technical improvements" on issues such as loss of profit, veterinary expenses and the simplification of administrative procedures. However, they insist that this review of the scale does not alter their fundamental position, as the central objective must be that "damages are as minimal as possible through effective prevention and management", given that "economic compensation can never replace the real protection of agricultural activity".
Among the demands met by the Principality, they highlight the economic update with the increase in amounts for cattle, horses, sheep-goats, pigs and poultry; the extension of loss of profit coverage in beef and high-performance cattle up to 12 years of age, as well as the elimination of automatic penalties for recurrent damages, except in cases where poor installation or lack of maintenance is proven.
The revised text also incorporates compensation for justified veterinary expenses of up to 100% of the intrinsic value of the injured animal, with a limit of 300 euros if it survives and an additional 200 euros to the compensation if it dies or must be sacrificed.
In the area of administrative simplification, the age of culling for sheep and goats over 10 years old is unified, altitude differences in pastures are eliminated, and the reference to "minimum technical operating conditions" is suppressed. Furthermore, the document now expressly identifies the native breeds of the Principality of Asturias and "the bureaucracy is clarified to speed up processing".
Despite these advances, the sector demands that "pending shortcomings" be addressed, among them the "genetic undervaluation" derived from not recognizing the functional and reproductive value of native breeds, as well as the exclusion of the 100% Native Breed Logo from PDOs or PGIs in the calculation of indemnities. They also consider the bonus provided for organic production "insufficient," which remains at 10% compared to the 20% they had requested.
In the same communication, the organizations warn of the lack of protection for the equine sector by not recovering an intermediate category or establishing a specific valuation for the Asturcón. Likewise, they miss a regulation that protects livestock farmers against damages of dubious authorship or caused by feral animals, and reiterate the need to establish a system for periodic review of the scale based on "technical, economic, and transparent criteria."