The shock plan adopted by the Generalitat in March in the face of the excess of wild boars in the Gavarres and Rocacorba massifs (Girona), where the optimal figure quadrupled, has been a "success", according to the Department of Climate Action.
Its managers affirm that in the last three months, with the increase in hunts allowed in this period, the number of ungulates has been reduced "drastically", since more than 5,400 copies of the total of 6,726 that the administration expected have been captured. when the hunting season started last September.
According to these data, a reduction of 81% has been achieved. The success has been greater in the Rocacorba massif, with the capture of 96% of the expected wild boar, while in the Gavarres, with 74%, the figure could be improved.
The general director of Ecosistemes Forestales i Gestió del Medi, Anna Sanitjas, explains that extra measures must 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 square km.
A figure that the Rocacorba massif already meets but that can still be improved in Les Gavarres, which currently stands at over 6 per km2. According to Sanitjas, the fact that some of the 21 colles in this area have gone out hunting less has resulted in fewer dead specimens. He also points to climate change and drought that have driven wild boars to less wooded areas to search for food.
From now on, the drones of the Rural Agents and the expert reports will determine in which areas these animals are hiding so that the hunters can act "surgically". If even so, the final objective is not met, the Generalitat will use its own means, such as the Rural Agents or the National Hunting Reserve guards, to capture the surplus animals.
According to Sanitjas, "the good results" obtained in this first declaration of Hunting Emergency open the door for this extraordinary measure to be applied in the future to other areas of Catalonia affected by this species such as Alt Empordà, Baix Empordà or Catalonia. Central. The scale is above 15 specimens per km2, provided that repeated damage to crops is proven.
The vice-president of the Girona Hunting Federation, Joan Espona, highlighted the extra effort made by the companies outside the strict hunting season. "The hunter is the only predator of the wild boar," insists Espona, who highlights the "social work" of the group to prevent further damage to agriculture or more traffic accidents.
As compensation, they have asked the administration for vests to protect hunting dogs from wild boars. They will also have logistics points where the game can be deposited outside of the ordinary hunting season.
"It cannot be that top-quality meat ends up in the landfill," says Espona. In Catalonia, only approximately half of the game meat is used, which is mainly sold to northern European countries where the consumption of this product is much more appreciated.
