In a controversial legislative decision, the province of Río Negro approved on July 3rd a new comprehensive wildlife management system that enables the commercialization and exportation of native species and their genetic material, eliminates the figure of the provincial game warden, and modifies key competencies in environmental protection, generating strong criticism from environmentalists, scientists, and community representatives.
The initiative was promoted by Governor Alberto Weretilneck, with ministerial agreement, and sanctioned by the majority ruling party in a single parliamentary round, without instances of public debate or broad technical consultation.
## Native wildlife in danger: a law that opens the door to the market
The text replaces the historic Law Q No. 2056 of 1985, and among its central points:
– Authorizes the economic exploitation of wildlife
– Enables the commercialization of sperm and eggs from endemic species, such as the naked mojarrita or the Challhuaco frog
– Eliminates the body of provincial game wardens
– Transfers the wildlife management competence from the Environment to the Development area
The affected species include the guanaco, the Patagonian ostrich, the pudú-pudú, the great bustard, and other native species traditionally used by Mapuche-Tehuelche and rural Creole communities, which could now be subject to commercial exploitation.
“A unprecedented commodification of wildlife is beginning, comparable to ivory extraction models in Africa,” warned the Humedales Foundation, which denounced serious ecological impacts and scientific gaps in the formulation of the system.
## Game wardens without vehicles for over 200,000 km²
During the committee debate, Deputy Magdalena Odarda (Let’s Go Together) requested reports on the current operational inspection capacity: the government acknowledged that only five agents and three vehicles cover an area of 203,013 km², with responsibility for 14 private hunting reserves, many of them located in sensitive areas such as the Nahuel Huapi National Park and indigenous territorial conflict zones.
## Hunting, territories, and foreign capital
The new law also blurs the distinction between:
– Hunting reserves with exotic species, as the one authorized by capital from the United Arab Emirates in Alto Chubut
– And breeding grounds for native species, whose regulation is now more ambiguous
The currently authorized reserves include:
– Bariloche: FutannTüe, El Ñandú, El Cóndor, Río Villegas, and Río Foyel
– Pilcaniyeu: Cerro David and Limay Sur
– Adolfo Alsina: Peumayén, El Porrón, and Loma Blanca
– Conesa: San Benito
– Pichi Mahuida: El Águila and La Luna
– Avellaneda: La Celestina
Many of these spaces are located in conflictive lands with indigenous communities, and their prior authorization had already generated controversy due to lack of consultation and environmental planning.
## A global perspective, a local decision
While internationally there is progress in recognizing nature as a legal entity, this law reactivates a free-market model regarding wildlife, with neocolonial parallels and lack of safeguards for vulnerable species.
“The capture of guanacos and bustards for commercial purposes cannot be compared to the self-consumption by rural populations. These types of laws ignore ancestral knowledge, exacerbate biodiversity loss, and hollow out the role of the State as an environmental guarantor,” noted independent experts.
