Wild boar warning

Several culls organised in Gata de Gorgos

WILD boar in Gata de Gorgos show no signs of reducing in numbers despite around 100 a year being culled since early 2015, say local hunters.

More and more of them are straying onto roads at night, creating a potentially fatal hazard to drivers.

Low rainfall over the past seven years or so means wild boar are unable to find enough vegetation to feed themselves at higher altitudes, and have to head for terra firma – often churning up farm fields and gardens in their search for sustenance.

This may be annoying, but authorities' main concern is that they frequently wander onto roads in the dark – their usual foraging hour – and occupants of cars crashing into them have been seriously injured or killed.

Although no fatalities have as yet been caused by wild boar in Gata, the cost of repairing a car after a crash with them can be upwards of €2,000.

The hunting community says there have been several near misses and that the roads near Gata are 'perilous' at night.

And farmers have suffered massive losses due to crop destruction, trees uprooted and irrigation equipment destroyed.

Three separate culls involving 30 to 60 huntsmen and their hounds have been organised in Gata, starting this Sunday (January 13) and again on Saturday, February 2 and Saturday, February 9.

They expect to start at first light and finish at around 14.00.

Walkers, especially those with dogs, are urged to stay clear of the countryside in and around Gata on these dates, and cat-owners should not let their pets out the night before or during the mornings.

The culls are not likely to reduce the population greatly, however – wild boar often gather near urbanisations or close to the town in areas where hunting is banned.