The general secretary and spokesperson on the General Board of Foro Asturias, Adrián Pumares, has accused the Government of the Principality of neglecting its obligations to the livestock sector and of “turning its back” on the rural environment. He did so during his attendance at the rally held this Sunday in Arriondas, where the attendees demanded answers in the face of wolf attacks.
In statements to the media, Pumares recalled that “El Sueve is a wolf-free area and, therefore, there cannot be wolf attacks. And if there are attacks, it is the result of the glaring responsibility of the Socialist Government that has been looking the other way for far too many years.” The Foro deputy also expressed his displeasure at the lack of representation of left-wing parties in the protest, emphasizing that the mobilization was not called by political forces, but by the local livestock farmers themselves.
The Foro leader took aim at the policy of the Asturian Executive on wolves and maintained that the Principality has hidden behind the inclusion of this species in the List of Wild Species under Special Protection Regime (Lespre) to justify its inaction. He also reproached the regional government for being “unable to articulate, to implement, to put into operation a management plan for the Wolf, which is already bad in itself, but which besides that is incapable of carrying it out.”
The parliamentarian also questioned the work of the Minister of Rural Environment and Agricultural Policy, Marcelino Marcos, whom he attributed a “double fail,” understanding that his announcements have not translated into real responses to the problems facing Asturian livestock farming.
Pumares said that “From now until May, we will hear multiple announcements from the minister Marcelino Marcos. He will also speak now, during the budget period and in the election campaign of November 29, he will talk about many and multiple aids to the Asturian countryside, but the reality is that Barbón’s Government, in these almost eight years it has been in office, has looked the other way,” insisting that the Executive’s promises have not materialized into effective measures.