Fundamentals of the need to control wild boars in Spain

    El wild boar (Sus scrofa), the wild ancestor of the domestic pig, has become a problem species in Europe, causing environmental effects, damage to agriculture, traffic accidents and other risks to public health, generating growing conflicts with livestock and animal health.

    Due to the changes in land use that are taking place throughout Europe and the relative scarcity of stable populations of wolves, their main natural predator, hunting has become the main tool to effectively regulate suid populations.

    The present technical document, prepared by Nicolás Urbani, veterinary technical adviser to the Royal Spanish Hunting Federation (RFEC), and Christian Gortázar, Professor of Animal Health at the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM) and head of the Health and Biotechnology Research Group ( SaBio) of the Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC – CSIC, UCLM, JCCM), provides a series of Practical foundations to optimize the management and control of wild wild boar populations in Spain.

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