The shock plan adopted by the Generalitat in March due to the excess of wild boars in the Gavarres and Rocacorba massifs (Gironès), where the optimal number quadrupled, has been a “success”, according to the Department of Climate Action . Its managers claim that, in the last three months, with the increase in raids allowed this period, the number of ungulates has been reduced “drastically”, as more than 5,400 specimens have been captured out of a total of 6,726 that the Administration anticipated when the hunting season began in September. According to these data, an 81% reduction has been achieved. The success has been greater in the massif of Rocacorba, with the capture of 96% of the planned wild boars, while in Gavarres, with 74%, the figure can still be improved.
The general director of Forest Ecosystems and Environmental Management, Anna Sanitjas, explains that extra measures will have to be applied in this area. In this way, until August 31, there will be volunteer hunters to reduce the population and get closer to an optimal density. This is between 4 and 5 specimens per km2. A number that the Rocacorba massif already meets, but which can still be improved in Gavarres, where the number of specimens currently stands at over 6 per km2. According to Sanitjas, the fact that some of the 21 gangs in this area have gone out hunting less has resulted in fewer dead animals. He also points to climate change and drought, which has displaced wild boars to less wooded areas in search of food.
From now on, the drones of rural agents and experts will determine in which areas these animals are hiding so that hunters can act “surgically”. If the final objective is still not met, the Generalitat will use its own means, such as the body of rural agents or the guards of the National Hunting Reserve, to capture the remaining wild boars.
According to Sanitjas, “the good results” obtained in this first declaration of Hunting Emergency open the door so that in the future this extraordinary measure can be applied to other areas of Catalonia punished by this species, such as Alt Empordà , Baix Empordà or Central Catalonia. The scale is above 15 specimens per km2, as long as there is evidence of repeated damage to crops.
The vice-president of the Girona Hunting Federation, Joan Espona, highlights the extra effort of the societies outside the strict hunting season. “The hunter is the only predator of the wild boar”, insists Espona, who highlights the “social task” of the collective to avoid more damage to agriculture or more traffic accidents. In compensation, they have asked the Administration for vests to protect the dogs from wild boars. They will also have logistics points where they can deposit the prey outside the regular hunting season.
“It can’t be that a top quality meat ends up in the landfill”, affirms Espona. In Catalonia, only approximately half of this type of meat is used, which is mostly sold in northern European countries, where the consumption of this product is much more appreciated.
