Herds of official sheep fight depopulation in empty Spain

In Brieva de Cameros there are more sheep than people, but not as many as before nor enough to guarantee the future of this small town in La Rioja, which in an attempt not to disappear has decided to raise a municipal flock to try to revitalize the town from livestock. "Our industrial estate is made up of the pastures we have, which are very good," Pedro Somalo, mayor of this town of barely 20 inhabitants and some 10,000 head of sheep, told Efeagro, of which almost 1,000 are "officials" belonging to the herd of the municipality and will be used in a school for shepherds to teach the trade. This is not a unique case and in several towns in Spain at demographic risk, municipal herds have been promoted to carry out extensive livestock projects with which to revitalize the territory, generating jobs and activity in the municipalities. At the same time, these heads of cattle that are owned by the municipalities are taken out to graze to clear the mountains, which naturally removes the ...