The regional deputy of the PP and spokesperson for Livestock, Belén Ceballos, has lashed out at the regionalist Guillermo Blanco, whom she accuses of engaging in "cheap partisan politics" at the expense of hunting, and has stressed that "some people think that hunting is their private playground, but you don't play with hunting."
In a statement, Ceballos maintains that "the bulk of the hunting sector" supports the restrictions applied in the Saja Regional Hunting Reserve, "from the Cantabrian Hunting Federation to the rest of the hunting societies, except one," which, in her opinion, "completely dismantles Mr. Blanco's narrative and proves that the PP Government is carrying out responsible hunting management, to try to guarantee the activity today, tomorrow, and in 20 years."
The parliamentarian defends that the Minister of Livestock, María Jesús Susinos (PP), "has done what she had to do, exercise her responsibilities" over the Reserve, "applying technical, environmental, and precautionary criteria," something that, she adds, "Blanco did not do when he had responsibilities, even though he knew the results of the latest official censuses."
In this regard, she warns that the regional Executive "will not allow itself to be dragged down by interested controversies generated by private associations and politicians who only seek notoriety," and emphasizes that, in her opinion, "it is being demonstrated that Buruaga's Government does not manage by pressure, nor by headlines, nor by the interests of some."
Ceballos criticizes the former minister, saying "it seems incredible that as minister he ignored the data" and holds him responsible for the fact that, due to his "poor management," the censuses have not been updated since 2017, which would have led, she denounces, to "drives being carried out without motivation, to systematically violating the Law on the Creation of the Reserve, to seriously damaging the balance and health status of certain game species."
Likewise, she reproaches the PRC for questioning the reduction in hunting permits, when the Ministry's decisions "are always based on technical reports, in this case from the Environmental Agents of the Government of Cantabria, who have confirmed that during the last few years the deer population in the Saja Regional Hunting Reserve has been considerably reduced."
Regarding the contracting of population censuses of game species, Ceballos expresses surprise that "the former regionalist minister does not know, now that he is in opposition, that population censuses of game species have been commissioned to external companies for 30 years".