Wild boars, from Rome to Genoa: the invasion. How many are there and how to defend yourself – Chronicle
Rome, 29 September 2021 – They run free in our cities, from Rome to Genoa. Immortalized by photos and videos that no longer make the news. But why me boars are so many? The question bounces on the phone with Marco Apollonio, professor at the University of Sassari. Which lines up the explanations. Two, above all: “Abandonment of the countryside and reintroduction of the species especially for hunting. This has led to the recovery of a series of areas where these animals had been absent for centuries. Which has favored the increase of the wolf. The wild boar is in fact its main prey “.
How many
Today, the teacher explains, answering this question rigorously is impossible. “I would say it like this: you can imagine that wild boars are not less than two millions. Constantly increasing since the postwar period. I would say that they are more numerous today than in the seventeenth century. But for eleven years we have not had official statistics on ungulates, nobody counts them anymore. And this is a big problem ”.
Road accidents
Just to give an idea: an adult male of wild boar weighs on average between 70 and 90 kilos, but it can also reach a quintal and a half. This shows how dangerous the animals are for circulation. “In Europe – recalls the professor – we have every year a million road accidents caused by ungulates. “The data refers to 2010. While Istat has recorded in the last ten years + 81% of serious claims caused by animals on provincial roads. The cure for Apollonius is clear: “Serious fences, even on highways; adaptation and luminous signs; a map of accidents as they do in Slovenia”. Confirm the statistic requests as soon as possible. Until June they had been 76 serious accidents caused by (wild, in 2% of cases), 4 people are dead animals and 86 are produced deadly animals.
I damage
Coldiretti has estimated in two hundred million a year the disasters caused by wild boars. Apollonius does not express himself on the number but also puts other risks in line: hygiene problems because these animals feed on waste. But also dangers for humans. The expert explains: “They rarely attack humans but they can do it if they are injured or even to get food”. In the end we are not so far from certain Japanese scenes, “where urban wild boars wait for people outside supermarkets and throw themselves on shopping bags”.
Remedy in Europe
In Berlin, recalls the expert, they have to deal with “10 thousand wild boars. There Spain she is worse off than us. The most effective country in addressing the problem is certainly there Germany. Which has a specific plan for killing and catching. The data is readily available. Not only that, garbage is handled very carefully. “An irresistible lure, as Rome demonstrates every day.
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