Outraged environmentalists have accused Andalucia's Junta and home owners in La Zagaleta, one of Europe's most luxurious and exclusive residential developments, of irresponsible handling of local wildlife. Owners have justified the secret hunting of animals with the excuse that the Junta had sanctioned this on the grounds that the animals posed a threat to humans. All owners involved in the hunting had obtained proper permits first. The cull is targeting Mouflon sheep, wild boar and deer.
Illegal hunting ground for the rich?
La Zagaleta is a 900-acre luxury villa development in Benahavis, a short drive from central Marbella. Surrounded by woodland, the mansions are not overlooked, offering not just exclusivity based on cost of purchase for home owners, but also a high level of privacy simply because of its semi-rural surroundings. Green spaces cover an idyllic 500 acres in this beautiful part of the Costa del Sol.
Owners have secretly indulged in hunting in the woodlands, which is taking exclusivity a step too far for the Costa del Sol's environmentalists. A petition on website change.org has already gathered 15,000 signatures, demanding that the hunting ceases immediately. A formal complaint has already been presented to Marbella court, demanding a stop to the wildlife cull.
La Zagaleta's estate management has denied that illicit hunting has been carried out, saying that only wildlife that is not native to the region has been culled, and only by hired professionals with a permit issued by the Junta de Andalucia last December.
No easy solutions for dealing with invasive, non-native species
Sergio Azcona, communications director for the luxury villa estate, stressed that local authorities had asked the estate management to deal with the dramatic increase of non-native species, some of which carry diseases harmful to humans. Wild boar can also be extremely dangerous, when one comes across them unaware and the animals feel threatened.
Meanwhile, environmentalists have pointed out that a targeted sterilisation programme of affected animals would be far more human, or a removal of them to another, unpopulated area. However, La Zagaleta's estate managers have rejected both suggestions as impractical.
According to Azcona, both wildlife and environmental legislation prevent a removal of the animals to other areas, since doing so would endanger those ecosystems. Sterilisation was also impractical, as the numbers involved meant there was not sufficient food available to carry out such a programme.
Historic Problem but Costa del Sol's Over Development is also to blame
La Zagaleta's wildlife problem is an inherited one: previous owners of the land imported many non-native species of animals from Central Europe so they could hunt them for pleasure. None of the animals being culled are native to Spain, let alone the Costa del Sol, the estate management was quick to point out. The over-development along the coast has forced the animals into ever-decreasing habitats.
Environmentalists have claimed there is evidence that pregnant animals and those with young to rear are being caught in inhumane traps; this claim has been included in what they have forwarded with their complaint to Marbella court. The core of the complaint states that luxury La Zagaleta estate has quietly been transformed into an illegal hunting ground for the super-rich of Marbella, an allegation strongly denied by the estate's management.
La Zagaleta's management has stated that for more than a quarter of a century the estate had set aside a budget for the protection of local fauna, including deer, wild boar and a small group of mountain goats and rabbits. The estate has provided water troughs, the statement said, and had a rigid programme in place for vets to check the well-being of La Zagaleta's wildlife.
Whatever the long-term solution, for those looking to buy a property in the exclusive La Zagaleta estate the idea of being confronted by a wild boar in their extensive gardens will probably come as rather unwelcome news. Local estate agents are quick to point out that these animals are very elusive and shy, not likely to venture into populated areas such as sun terraces and swimming pools.