Italian city has a headache to deal with wild boar

The problem of wild boar in Italy is worsening despite hunting efforts to reduce numbers in the cities.

Tackling wild boar becomes a dilemma in Italy. Photo: Euronews

A herd of wild boar roams around several houses in the Calabria region of southern Italy, Euronews reported on August 16. That makes Calabria's capital Catanzaro the latest city to face a wild boar problem. It is common to see herds of about 20 pigs living on the outskirts of the city and not entering any buildings, although they still hang around the houses built next to the countryside.

Giorgio Arcuri, a member of the city's environmental council, called on the authorities to take appropriate measures to tackle the root of the problem, including culling the pigs. Currently, Italy is looking for a way to deal with wild boars that invade towns and cities. The Italian farm organization Coldiretti called it a "national invasion".

Last year, wild boars flooded Rome, approaching people, eating leftovers near trash cans, seemingly oblivious to the busy streets of the Italian capital. Authorities are increasingly concerned about wild boar numbers skyrocketing in many cities, posing the risk of spreading the flu or attacking residents. But their solution to the problem is the extermination of wild boar, which is controversial in the community.

According to the Smithsonian in 2022, there are about 2.3 million wild boars roaming around Italy, 20,000 living in Rome. In December 2022, the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni issued an order to exterminate wild boars in Rome, but faced fierce opposition from animal rights activists. Accordingly, hunters are allowed to use bows and arrows to kill wild boars for meat. Wild boar hunting is allowed even in normally prohibited hunting areas such as municipalities and reserves. The decision is also said to encourage hunting. Last month, Catanzaro mayor Nicola Fiorita also authorized the destruction of 30 wild boars in a park in the city.