Laurence Dollimore
THE wild boars seen increasingly roaming the streets of Marbella could help spread deadly African swine flu across Spain if they are not properly managed, experts have warned.
While the disease was eradicated from the country in 1995, there have been recent cases in other European countries and there is currently no vaccine in circulation.
“A single outbreak on a Spanish farm could unleash a cascade of devastating consequences for the pork industry, including the slaughter of thousands of pigs and legal and trade restrictions,” said PACMA spokeswoman Yolanda Morales in a statement.
PACMA is a political party whose main priority is the protection of animals and wildlife in Spain.
The activists have slammed the Junta de Andalucia in recent weeks amid a surge in videos showing wild boars interacting with humans on the beaches and streets of the Costa del Sol.
Until this year, the animals had not reached the beaches of Marbella in such numbers.
It has led the City Council to come up with recommendations to tackle the issue, although none have yet been published.
The mayor of San Pedro de Alcantara, a town within Marbella, has asked tourists and locals to not give the animals food, adding that “they are not pets and can be dangerous”.
Animal lovers are also warned to steer clear of the babies, as the mothers are very protective “and can become aggressive and attack.”
This year, packs of boars have been seen on Torre la Sal beach in Cabanes, where they try to get close to sunbathers’ possessions.
One Twitter user said: “This is the Cabanes beach next to Oropesa. The wild boars day after day on the beach and in the streets. This has been going on for two years. What solutions does the City Council have?”
Wild boars have long roamed the streets of the Costa del Sol, although it is usually at night and in developments and residential areas.
They are mostly searching for food, which some experts believe is encouraged by locals feeding the animals.
But the effects of climate change mean the more inland areas where the boars live have become drier and less abundant.
It means they have to seek food elsewhere, heading to anywhere with bins and garbage that they can sift through.
“It is a process. Wild boar populations have recovered in recent decades and we are now seeing the effects,” explains Dr. Joaquín Vicente Baños, a researcher at the Institute for Hunting Resources Research in an interview with SER Málaga.
“These animals do not find food, and they find it easily in these areas; in environments where there are people who throw away or have food…
“It is an animal that can adapt to a situation… it then comes into contact with people in the beach and these incidents that we see on social networks occur.”
He added: “Wild boars have the greatest food shortage, especially in the Mediterranean area, it is in the summer season.
“It is precisely a hard period for them since there is little food in the field. In addition, we have been suffering the consequences of a drought This perhaps makes the problem worse and they go looking for food sources where they usually don’t need to.”
PACMA added that countless boars are bred in captivity by hunters across the country, causing their population numbers to swell.
However, it said, the ‘lack of coordination’ between different regional governments on the issue means their true number is not known.
