Large herbivores, such as horses and taurus, must live in areas that are naturally rewilding to enjoy their full ecological benefits. The collaboration between The Lifescape Project, Rewilding Europe and Rewilding Spain has shown that this is partially possible under existing European law, but that further legal changes are still essential.
James Shooter / Reviving Europe
Why Wilder Status Matters
Large wild herbivores such as horses, European bison and taurus are among nature’s most powerful landscape engineers. Through grazing, browsing and trampling, they help create diverse habitats, support food webs, recycle nutrients, increase carbon storage and form resilient ecosystems. Many wild herbivores that once filled this role, such as aurochs and tarpans, have disappeared from Europe. Therefore, rewilding is increasingly relying on these ecological proxies to restore natural processes and provide wide-ranging benefits to wildlife, people, and the climate.
However, while such herbivores are managed to allow them to live as naturally as possible within rewilding areas, laws often treat them as traditional livestock. In most of Europe, agricultural regulations, including routine handling, identification, movement control, and health inspections, continue to apply. While suitable for agricultural production, these requirements are not suitable for wildlife where the purpose is ecological restoration rather than food production.
This mismatch causes unnecessary stress to free-roaming animals, increases risk to those who care for them, and limits their ability to fulfill their ecological role. Instead of allowing large herbivores to shape the landscape with minimal human intervention, existing rules often require the same type of intensive management that rewilding seeks. Recognizing these challenges, Lifescape Project, Rewilding Europe and Rewilding Spain have been working together to explore how existing legislation can better accommodate large herbivores living in truly wild or semi-wild environments.
Marcus Westberg / Wildflowers of Europe
Breakthrough in the Iberian Plateau
This collaboration focuses on the rewilding landscapes of the Iberian Plateau in Castilla-La Mancha. Here, Rewilding Spain manages grazing populations of horses, taurus and European bison. The aim was to test how far the current European legal framework can accommodate large wild or semi-wild herbivores living in rewilding areas, and to identify where legal barriers remain, existing pathways to overcome these barriers, and where future reforms may be needed.
The greatest success has been with horses. After a process that began in September 2024, the regional government officially recognized four of Rewilding Spain’s flock in May 2026 as living in a wild or semi-wild environment. This is the first designation in Castile-La Mancha (this designation still requires recognition by the European Commission). Encompassing 120 horses does not make the animals wild in the legal sense, but it does mean they can be managed in a way that better reflects their lifestyles in practice. Requirements such as routine microchipping and passporting, some fencing duties and various infrastructure rules can now be removed or relaxed, allowing herds to live more naturally and with less human intervention.
“This recognition means more than just reducing paperwork,” says Mara Zamora, General Manager of Rewilding Spain. “It allows the horse herd to live and behave in a much more natural way, fulfilling the ecological role they came here to play. We hope that the experience we gain will help other rewilding schemes involving natural grazing across Europe follow the same path.”
Read the full Iberian Plateau case study
A roadmap for others to follow
Perhaps the most important outcome of the Iberian Plateau Initiative is that it provides a practical path for others. The legal route used in Castilla-La Mancha is not limited to specific Spanish regions but is based on provisions already recognized under EU law and implemented through national law. Similar approaches already exist in other parts of Spain and in several other European countries. In other words, the lessons learned have relevance far beyond revitalizing landscapes.
The case study outlines the key steps required to ensure awareness of a grazing horse population. This includes proving that the animals are in fact living in wild or semi-wild conditions, applying to change the legal status of existing herds, anchoring their application to national and EU law, and ensuring that recognized areas continue to meet the necessary conditions over time.
Rewilding in Spain
Emmanuel Rondo
a valuable lesson
The course also highlights valuable lessons for natural grazing practitioners. If your local authority is unfamiliar with the law, your application may initially meet resistance, so careful preparation and a strong legal argument are essential. Above all, organizations should expect this process to take time. Rewilding Spain’s successful application took around 20 months from first discussion to formal local approval, and the process still needs to be recognized by the European Commission for it to be fully completed.
“This collaboration shows that meaningful progress is already possible under today’s legislation,” said Stephanie Smith, Lifescape Project’s Rewilding Law Associate. “By sharing real-world experiences from the field, we hope to help others navigate the existing legal framework while also building the case for the long-term reforms that rewilding ultimately requires.”
When the law still falls short
In many rewilding areas, different large herbivores share the same environment, but current laws treat horses and cattle, such as tauros and European bison, separately in both Spain and other European countries. This means that mixed herds cannot currently operate under a single wild or semi-wild designation and creates unnecessary complexity for rewilding plans to restore natural grazing.
Although bred to fulfill the ecological role once played by the extinct aurochs, taurros are still legally classified as livestock and subject to all livestock regulations, including identification, disease testing, and movement control. Although registering a rangeland rather than a production system offers greater flexibility, current law leaves little room to reduce the level of human intervention required.
The European bison is more promising, but still has an uncertain legal status. In Spain, they are currently classified as non-native animals and are generally managed under livestock regulations. However, because it is listed as a species of Community Concern under EU nature law and is considered a wild species, it can be managed through Spain’s existing conservation nucleus (núcleozoológico) system. Designed for conservation, husbandry and scientific research rather than livestock production, this framework provides a more appropriate management approach. However, its use is subject to case-by-case approval, is time-limited, and is still subject to significant regulatory conditions.
James Shooter / Reviving Europe
Sophie Monsarat / Bringing Europe back to the wild
Looking beyond today’s legislation
Work carried out in the Iberian Plateau shows that current legislation already includes opportunities to rewild wild or semi-wild herbivores. However, this often depends on exemptions, administrative discretion, and species-specific provisions that must be negotiated on an individual basis. While meaningful progress can be made, it does not yet provide the long-term certainty needed as rewilding continues to expand across Europe.
This case study therefore points to a broader conversation about how environmental law should evolve. Future legislation could recognize animals based on the ecological functions they perform within a rewilding ecosystem, rather than classifying them by species or agricultural use. Such a framework could also help solve other long-standing problems, such as allowing carcasses to remain in appropriate locations to feed scavengers and recycle nutrients, and replacing today’s patchwork of individual permits with a more consistent legal approach.
As Spain develops a national restoration plan in line with the EU’s Nature Restoration Act, there is a valuable opportunity for the legal framework to evolve alongside nature restoration efforts. The key lessons of the Iberian Plateau are clear. Current laws already provide a practical path to enabling more wild herbivore populations. However, to fully realize the ecological potential of these populations, we will ultimately need legislation specifically designed for animals whose primary role is not agricultural production but natural restoration across the continent.
James Shooter / Reviving Europe
GrazeLIFE
The EU-funded GrazeLIFE initiative (2019-2021), led by Rewilding Europe, assessed the role of natural and widespread grazing across the continent. It has been proven that large, free-ranging herbivores, such as European bison, Koenig horses and Galloway cattle, act as natural ‘firefighters’ by restoring ecosystems, increasing biodiversity and removing flammable vegetation. A report published by initiative members explains how European policies, particularly the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), can better support natural grazing.
