Historic review of predator control in the Iberian peninsula

Abstract

The reconstruction of the historic relationship between Man and wildlife is a recurring topic of the world scientific literature, being the study of the effects of direct and indirect legal persecution over predator species particularly exhaustive. The investigation of the historical human impact in animal populations is essential to understand current patterns of species abundance and distribution, their expansive or regressive trends, as well as the potential causes for extant hotspots of human-wildlife conflict. Moreover, historical information is vital to properly guide management decisions for several species, especially for those facing serious conservation issues or those that are socially conflictive. This study represents the first comprehensive attempt to compile information relative to the persecution of predator species in the Iberian Peninsula throughout the XXth century. Preliminary results show that legal mechanisms operated almost simultaneously in both Portugal and Spain although at different rates and spatially asynchronous. The official extermination campaigns of predator species was overall very effective and their impact in mammal, bird and reptile populations must have been devastating. Nowadays, the near disappearance of many species of predators and the drastic reduction of their distribution area is a consequence of the direct persecution imposed over this period. The legal protection that these species enjoy currently is not yet warranty of their survival in the long-term in this region.