The Valencian Generalitat annually authorizes the hunting of more than 10,000 foxes in the Valencian Community, representing an average of 10,000 red fox specimens killed per year. This situation is described as "unsustainable extractive pressure devoid of scientific basis."
The report prepared by the Grup d'Estudi i Protecció dels Rapinyaires (GER-Ecologistes en Acció), covering the period between 2003 and 2023, warns that this hunting intensity favors the overpopulation of rabbits, one of the foxes' preferred prey. Thus, the massive killing of foxes ends up having the opposite effect to that intended in terms of population control.
Ecologists argue that an immediate moratorium on hunting this species is necessary, as well as the elimination of the so-called "predator control," arguing that the current hunting pressure has no scientific justification and is causing imbalances in ecosystems.
