Alex Trelinski
WILD BOAR sightings have soared over a year in the Valencian Community according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
283 municipalities reported sightings in the region in 2021, but that has now risen to 404- accounting for 74.53% of municipalities in the Valencian Community.
Boars are being attracted to the periphery of many towns and cities to feed on garbage which becomes a quick and convenient diet, and there are reported cases of people actually feeding them.
With the absence of any predators, Paco Gonzalez from the Group for the Study and Conservation of Natural Spaces(Gecen) says the circumstances are creating ‘all-you-can-eat’ buffets as the boars trample through and destroy farm land to access food.
Besides damaging crops, the boars also cause road accidents as they suddenly appear in front of vehicles- often at night.
Hunting is seen as an answer to controlling boar populations but Gonzalez believes that it is ‘only appropriate’ in certain cases.
Despite the rise in boar shootings, the population has continued to rise because boars respond to culls with uncontrolled breeding.
Environmental groups such as Gecen advocate another type of population management such as live capture with trap cages, which have already proved to be effective in Catalunya.
Gonzalez also pointed out that traps have already been implemented ‘by decree in Galicia region’ and wants to see the same happen in the Valencian Community to curb the boar population.
Nevertheless the Department of Ecological Transition has launched a campaign to tell councils about resources at their disposal including authorising more hunting as well as installing trap cages.
In the 2021-22 season, 42,315 boars were shot in the Valencian Community- 19% more than the previous season and triple the figures of a decade earlier.
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