Cages and drones to 'control' wild boars
OLIVA has launched a 'humane capture scheme' to control the wild boar population using selfclosing cages with food as bait.
This method has been used in other towns, but when the plan was initially discussed between councils in the areas of La Safor and the Marina Alta last year, the aim was to sterilise those caught and then release them into remote mountain spaces, where there is an abundant source of vegetation as food and a long distance from built-up areas or farmland.
Later, when put into practice in Gandia, it was reported that sick boars were being put down.
Oliva has added drone surveillance to the system, with night cameras and thermal body-heat cameras capable of making out different species of wildlife, to detect their presence.
Drones will also work out which areas of farmland and residential gardens are suffering the most damage from wild boar descending from the hills in search of food and water.
This is not the only problem the hogs present – wandering onto roads, especially unlit ones at night, can cause traffic accidents which frequently lead to serious human injury and even death, and they also become aggressive towards people or animals who cross their paths and pass on diseases to both.
Those which are not caught by the cages and are tracked by drone will be stunned using painless anaesthetic darts under veterinary supervision, Oliva's agriculture department explains.
What will happen to the animals next has not been confirmed.
Town councils across both districts have reached the conclusion that traditional hunting sessions do not work, as the small number killed are far outweighed by the surviving population and by constant mass breeding.