In addition to the great challenge of reducing the populations of wild animals that cause significant damage to agriculture and cause traffic accidents, there is the challenge of encouraging the consumption of the meat of these species, from wild boar to rabbits, which are now largely discarded. . Of the 73,000 wild boars that were captured in the 2022-23 season in Catalonia, some 34,000 ended up at the logistics points for collecting game meat and the establishments that handle it for subsequent marketing, while around 35,000 ended up in containers. and approximately 4,000 were destined for self-consumption by hunters, according to estimates provided by Anna Sanitjas, general director of Forestry and Medi Management of the Department of Climate Action of the Generalitat.
The fact that such a large amount of wild boar meat, also rabbit meat and other game species, is wasted in Catalonia responds to logistical, cultural and social issues. “Our goal is for the catches to go into the food chain, with all the health guarantees, but now there is less tradition of eating this product, the challenge is for them to reach the butcher shops and for more consumption. In Catalonia we produce but we do not process, the industries that are dedicated to this sector are in the south of Spain or in the north of Europe,” details Sanitjas. The paradox arises that a food that could be practically Km 0 is not, since part of the meat eaten in Catalonia makes a one-way trip to the south of the Peninsula, where it is prepared, and back here. “The wholesalers are in Andalusia and Extremadura, there they manipulate and export it, and a percentage returns to Catalonia ready to cook it. From the Catalan Caça Federation we presented a project to the Generalitat to support the creation of a company that processes meat here,” says Joan Espona, vice president of the Girona Caça Federation. From Acció Climàtica they affirm that they view “with good eyes the possibility and viability” of this initiative, which would mean taking another step in their plan to “value and promote” that citizens buy this type of protein.
Increased consumption “is crucial not only to control populations of game species involved in traffic accidents and agricultural damage, but also to maintain the balance of ecosystems, generate local income and preserve an essential part of our rural culture.” ”, they underline from Acció Climàtica.
Joan Espona wants to highlight that progress has been made lately because previously “the majority of wild boars ended up in the containers” arranged in 52 locations in Catalonia. The approval of an aid of 25 euros per animal killed and transported to a logistics point has led to hunters leaving them in these destinations and therefore there is greater use. Acció Climàtica specifies that a total of 546,000 euros were granted to this group for this concept in the 2022-23 campaign.
Espona regrets the progressive reduction in the number of hunters due to the lack of generational change and the loss of attractiveness of this activity for young people. From the 85,743 firearm hunting licenses issued in 2013, this dropped to 57,266 last year.
Jaume Mora, chef at Baro, in Pallars Sobirà, and partner of Vedat Pirineus, manages through this company two logistics points for collecting big game animals, in Sort and in Solsona. “The population of wild boars and deer is out of control, a single rancher has brought us 150 fallow deer that he has hunted in his meadows; In the Pyrenees we also have many deer, mouflons, roe deer... But not everything that comes to us can be used, since the aid from the Generalitat is paid regardless of the weight of each animal and if they are small, four or five kilos, They are not sold and are destroyed,” he explains. He also specifies that those who are killed by more than one shot, by two or three shots, do not meet the ideal conditions for consumption either.
“Our work at the logistics points consists of cleaning the animals, removing their viscera and identifying them for traceability; Then we send them to a wholesaler in Córdoba who processes and sells them. It is a shame that in Catalonia we do not take more advantage of this high-quality, local protein,” adds Mora, who has specialized in making stews based on this type of meat. At the recent Fòrum Gastronòmic de Girona, chefs, hunters, businessmen in the sector and the Generalitat proposed recovering dishes with wild boar for their nutritional value and to help reduce its growing population, which is estimated at more than 200,000 specimens in Catalonia, according to the latest published data, from 2019, which would need to be updated. The 2023-24 hunting campaign in Collserola has culminated with the balance of 594 wild boars killed, 371 less than in the previous one. Acció Climàtica highlights that this winter the density in this natural park has been reduced to eight animals per square kilometer compared to 17 in 2020-21.
Currently, 90% of these big game species are destined for export. In the ten logistics points that operate in Catalonia, the animals are cleaned and it is in the nine handling establishments, of which seven in Terres de l'Ebre, where the meat is prepared in pieces for sale fresh or as sausages.
Santiago Lavín, professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the UAB, recalls that in order to be able to market them "the animals must first undergo a veterinary inspection and, even if it is for self-consumption, the wild boar must in all cases undergo an analysis to verify the absence of trichina.” During 2023, 73 specimens tested positive for trichinosis, according to Acció Climàtica.
Lavín emphasizes that it is difficult to break the taboos that stop the consumption of this meat. Society considers that it is “hard, gives off a strong smell and is complicated to cook.” Furthermore, there are reservations about trying a stew made of, for example, roe deer, in homes that are unrelated to the tradition of game products.
When asked if this protein could be offered to food banks to avoid waste, Lavín believes that it is not an easy solution since the costs of handling the animal must be assumed. Through hunter societies, specific donations have been made to third sector entities.
On March 30, Accio Climàtica declared a hunting emergency in 75 municipalities in the Lleida region to reduce rabbit densities in areas with high overpopulation. Between August 2022 and September 2023, 441,000 specimens of this lagomorph mammal were hunted, the vast majority of which were discarded.
