As a partner representing the hunting sector in the LIFE LYNXCONNECT project, the Artemisan Foundation is once again taking charge of the talks organised for managers, hunters and owners of hunting grounds in areas where the Iberian lynx is present and expanding. The meetings began last July in Extremadura, where they will continue in the province of Badajoz, and will be extended over the next year to Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha and Murcia.

Under the title El lince ibérico: Everything you need to know, Artemisan has set itself the objective of fully involving all those people who have first-hand knowledge of the areas in which this feline can maintain wild populations and which, therefore, are the same areas that LIFE LYNXCONNECT is choosing as the ideal habitat for its reintroduction, The entire hunting sector should and can participate in the conservation of this species, being a success story given that 90% of the specimens live in hunting grounds and in order to resolve all their doubts about this coexistence that is giving such good results.

The work of the Artemisan Foundation involves bringing the reality of the Iberian lynx to the rural world and, at the same time, acting as an intermediary between the administration in charge of the conservation of the species and the reality of all the actors present who maintain the environment.

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LYNXCONNECT returns to the villages of Extremadura with meetings between the Artemisan Foundation, hunters, managers and landowners.
LYNXCONNECT thus recognises, with the participation of Artemisan as a partner, the importance of the hunting sector for the preservation of a species that continues to be in danger of extinction. Hunting management allows the Iberian lynx to find the habitat requirements and abundance of wild rabbits, its main food source and without which it cannot survive, in hunting reserves.

There are already several stable populations in our country that coincide with the areas chosen by the LIFE LYNXCONNECT project and the Artemisan Foundation to listen to hunters, managers and landowners. In addition to these, there will be another in Portugal, which will also be the subject of information dissemination. In addition, the Region of Murcia joins the geographical points chosen for the reintroduction of the feline, since, during this LIFE, two new nuclei will be created: Lorca and Sierra Arana (Granada).

In this way, the conferences will take place in different municipalities in the lynx-producing areas of each autonomous community and will continue to be a forum for debate and exchange of experiences, as they were during the summer season in Quintana de la Serena, San Pedro de Mérida, Llerena and Azuaga, and even at the Iberian Hunting, Fishing and Nature Fair of Extremadura itself.

During the talks, Artemisan will present information on the current situation of the Iberian lynx and explain what the LIFE LYNXCONNECT project consists of, as well as the implication of the presence of the lynx in hunting grounds, highlighting its important role in predator control. All are organised in collaboration with the regional hunting federations and with the support of local hunting societies.

For their part, those attending will be able to express their impressions and concerns regarding the Iberian lynx, with the aim of establishing common criteria for action by the sector and to see what aspects the competent administrations should work on in order to strengthen the relationship between the two.

Locations and dates

The reactivation of these talks begins on 16th November in Villanueva de la Serena and continues on Thursday 17th in Puebla de la Reina. They will then be repeated for the residents of the regions of Talarrubias, Valdelacasa, Navalmoral de la Mata, Jarandilla de la Vera, Valencia de las Torres and Puebla de Maestre, with dates yet to be determined. As for the rest of Spain, the cycle will continue in the regions of Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha and the Region of Murcia once 2023 has begun.

The rest of the locations and dates will be notified in the coming weeks, in agreement with the corresponding hunting federations and associations. For more information, interested parties can contact elisa.palomar@fundacionartemisan.com.

LYNXCONNECT is a transnational project co-financed by the European Union’s LIFE programme and coordinated by the Junta de Andalucía, where 22 partners from public administrations, private entities and NGOs from Spain and Portugal are jointly participating in actions for the conservation of the Iberian lynx with the involvement of hunters, managers and landowners.