Congress has finally given a definite pardon to the arrui, changing their status from “exotic or invasive” to “naturalized”.
Although the herds may be “controlled they cannot be exterminated.
This decision should reverse the decision to wipe out the arrui, otherwise known as the Mouflón or Barbary Sheep, from the Sierra Espuña, although the cull has been underway for some time.
The rainbow trout has also been pardoned.
Some 17 scientific societies and 600 investigators signed a motion against the modification of the Ley de Patrimonio Natural y Biodiversidad, which permitted a cull to exterminate the arrui and the rainbow trout.
