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On Thursday 23 January, in broad daylight, a large wild boar shared a space with passers-by in Malaga city, prompting police and wildlife experts to intervene. The day before action had to be taken in a park in Las Flores and at El Monte primary school. The wild boar also regularly stroll through Malaga's La Victoria district, Hacienda Paredes, Cerrado de Calderón, Churriana... So why have they lost their fear of being seen even in the middle of the cities and in broad daylight?
The mere question of easy food is not the only theory used to explain the presence of a cross breed of wild boar and domestic pigs in urban areas. Drought and the lack of water in their natural environment could explain this increasing frequency. But no, after the two spells of heavy rain last autumn, hardly any difference has been noticed. There seems to be no stopping them. In this context, the president of the Malaga Veterinary Association, Juan Antonio de Luque, reflects on the need to apply comprehensive measures in all municipalities.
The thesis is simple: there is no point in applying measures in one municipality if they are not taken in the one next door, or if they are different. "The animals obviously do not understand municipal boundaries," says De Luque, who talks of a package of eight measures offered by the association.
In any case, the conclusion is clear: the measures taken by the different town halls and the Junta de Andalucía are not working, even in their natural environment.
"They are animals of habit and have become accustomed to finding food very easily. People even feed them, which is something that should never be done, it is very important to educate the public. It was assumed that with the rains they would stay in their own habitat. But, even though they now have plenty of water, we see that they continue to come down. They have lost their fear of humans," he says.
What's more, it is increasingly easy to see them in broad daylight, when in the past they would only really move around at night. And they make their homes along the numerous streams and waterways that connect the mountains to the towns.
De Luque highlights the habits that these animals have and stresses the importance of raising public awareness about the dangers of their presence in cities: diseases, traffic accidents, destruction, attacks... In this sense, he makes a clear recommendation: avoid them. If you walk with a pet, even more so.
"We can't get used to them being in the playgrounds, in the city centre.... They have become used to it. It's a big problem. The authorities have to take wild boar seriously or it will be increasingly difficult for them to return to the countryside," he says. "If a wild boar defecates in a children's playground it can, for example, contaminate the area with hepatitis C," De Luque warns.
"The measures we have proposed should work, but no municipality is implementing them as a whole," he says. De Luque mentions that the first measure is that there is too little hunting. Hunting pressure must be increased, he says.
Secondly, it is a matter of making it as difficult as possible for them to find food. And in this respect vets suggest installing the correct types of litter bins - ones that cannot be tipped over easily. He also recommends changes in the vegetation on roundabouts by replacing grass with bushes... The latter reduces the need for water and it is important to remember that water is a great attraction for wild boar.
Thirdly, for De Luque, the potential danger of disease transmission to other animals and humans must be clear. "These animals are potential transmitters of diseases (salmonellosis, biovar 2 brucellosis, hepatitis E); transmitters of diseases common to domestic livestock (porcine pleuropneumonia, porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2), Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), Enzootic Pneumonia, lymphadenitis); to hunting dogs (Aujeszky's disease), and to wildlife (tuberculosis due to Mycobacterium avium complex, trichinellosis, etc.).
However, De Luque does disagree with using the bow or crossbow method to hunt them due to the suffering it entails. As an alternative he advocates capture or cage traps in urban areas. This would involve stunning and euthanasia processes with specialised technicians and veterinarians.
The sixth point is highly questioned by veterinarians: the placement of water troughs in woodland areas. They are a source of disease among feral pigs and wild boar.
The seventh point would be controversial among cat lovers: the feeding of cat colonies, of feral cats. The wild boars, opportunists, take advantage of them and once again there is a risk of infection.
Sterilisation is something that has not been worked on thoroughly and should, in the opinion of the veterinarians, be done through projects. The reality of overpopulation is clear when, in addition, they lack natural predators. In Andalucía, alarm bells have been ringing for many years, especially in the provinces of Cadiz and Malaga. It is estimated, on the basis of catches, that there are around 22,000 specimens in the province. The vast majority of those sighted in cities and urban environments are crossed with domestic pigs and are therefore considered an exotic species which, according to the environmental authorities, should be exterminated.
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