This free online course, which has more than 100 minutes of video from professionals and experts in the prevention of African Swine Fever, aims to raise awareness about the problems derived from the overabundance of wild boar and how to minimize its impact through the sustainable management of its populations.
El Operational Group for the Prevention of African Swine Fever (GO PREVPA), coordinated by researchers from the Research Group in Health and Biotechnology (SaBio) of the Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC – CSIC, UCLM, JCCM), has launched the online course “The wild boar as an overabundant species: damage and the need to manage its populations”. This completely free course is taught in MOOC mode, so the content will be available online so that participants can use it whenever they prefer, without having to meet deadlines. There are also no participation limits, so anyone interested can sign up.
The main objective of the course is raise awareness about the problems derived from the overabundance of wild boar (Sus scrofa) and how to minimize their impact through proper management of their populations. This is a subject addressed from a transversal perspective to involve all the sectors involved in the prevention of African swine fever (ASF) such as farmers, veterinarians, public administrations or the hunting subsector, who will be able to acquire new knowledge about the latest tools available for the correct population control of these ungulates.
The MOOC is structured in four blocks, each of them with a series of videos and complementary material that make up the training content of the course.. In total, more than 100 minutes of video by nine scientific, academic and professional experts from the sector who will address different issues related to the problem of wild boar as an overabundant species, as well as the need to manage their populations sustainably. Participants will also have at their disposal up to 54 scientific articles with which they will be able to delve more deeply into the issues that are of interest to them.
Free online course "The wild boar as an overabundant species: damage and the need to manage its populations".
The course begins with an introductory block that leads to a thematic block in which the target species, the wild boar, is introduced, delving into its biological and ecological characteristics. The next block focuses on monitoring wild populations and explaining the latest advances in monitoring tools. In the last block, the different options available for the correct population control of these suids and their implications in epidemiology will be reviewed, where participants will be able to learn first-hand about the actions that are being carried out in Aragon to tackle this problem, both from the practical and normative point of view.
Structure of the online course
Block 1. Introduction and presentation of the PREVPA Operational Group
- Introduction to the MOOC — Jaime Hurtado (ASICCAZA)
- GO PREVPA Why a project focused on African Swine Fever?
Block 2. Knowing the wild boar and its problems
- Introduction to the block — Juan Herrera (RFEC)
- Conflicts involving wild boar in overabundance scenarios — Mario Sebastian (IREC)
- Biology and ecology of the wild boar. Mortality factors — Christian Gortazar (IREC)
- Population dynamics of the species. Quality Hunting Statistics — Joaquin Vicente (IREC)
Block 3. Monitoring in wild populations
- Introduction to the block —María Teresa González (APROCA Extremadura)
- How to prepare a monitoring plan? — Joaquin Vicente (IREC)
- Population and health management of wildlife — Pelayo Acevedo (IREC)
- Advances in the monitoring of wild populations: methods and indicators — Pelayo Acevedo (IREC)
- The European Wildlife Observatory — Joaquin Vicente (IREC)
Block 4. Population control of the wild boar. The example of Aragon
- Introduction to the block — Gonzalo Rods (Artemisan Foundation)
- Wild boar control options. Implications in epidemiology — Christian Gortazar (IREC)
- Regulations for population control of wild boar in Aragon — Alberto Fernández-Arias (Government of Aragon)
- New techniques to improve population control of wild boar — Alberto Fernández-Arias (Government of Aragon)
