 Wild Boars in France
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Oct. 13, 2003 — Wild boars are on the rampage in the eastern French region of Lorraine, and hunters have to pay for the damage they are causing, mainly to farmers' crops.
It is difficult to accurately estimate wild boar numbers. However, most people agree that there are too many of them and that they are causing too much damage, said Romeo Rieder of the Meurthe and Moselle Hunting Federation.
This summer's blistering heat wave saw an explosion in the number of wild boars, which have such a fast breeding rate that their population can easily triple or quadruple in a single year.
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In Lorraine, wild boar numbers have been on the rise since 1999, when sheltered areas of dense vegetation were put aside for the animals.
Hunters killed 19,000 wild boars between 1997 and 1998, said Olivier Schoenstein, head of the regional hunting federation. Last year, that figure topped 50,000.
Farmers are at their wits' end. During a recent visit by Agriculture Minister Herve Gaymard to the Vosges region, they complained of the increasing damage caused by wild boars, notably to fields of corn, their preferred food.
It's the hunters who have to pay for their game’s damage and it's beginning to get costly.
In Lorraine, a region bordering Germany where boar hunting is commonly considered a rite of passage, damages paid to farmers shot up to 4.5 million euros ($5.3 million) in 2002 from three million euros in 2000, Schoenstein said.
In Vosges, 1,200 complaints were filed before June 5 this year versus 717 for the whole of 2002, when damages of 800,000 euros ($935,000) were paid out, Grandclair said.
The French government has waded into the debate with a plan that envisages stopping the hunters from scattering grain for wild boars, a practice that keeps the animals in particular hunting areas.
"It's practically rearing them!" Grandclair said of the grain scattering, pleading for a "progressive" end to the practice on the grounds that a sudden halt would lead to more damage, as wild boars go looking elsewhere for food.
"To stop scattering grain would be a catastrophe," countered Michel Thomas of the Meuse Hunting Federation. "If they do that, hunters will no longer pay damages."
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Name: Wild Boar (Sus scrofa)
Primary Classification: Suidae (Pigs and Hogs) Location: Europe, northern Africa, Asia; introduced in United States. Habitat: Grassland and scrub to forest. Diet: Shrubs, weeds, bird eggs, snakes, grasshoppers, mice, roots, tubers, even manure. Size: Up to 5 ft in length and 198 lbs in weight. Description: Brown, red-bron, dark gray or black coat; large head; long, narrow snout; smalle, erect ears; males grow tusks; ridge of hair along spine; straight tail with long tassels. Cool Facts: Primarily nocturnal animals, they will eat almost anything edible, from tubers to insects and small mammals. Conservation Status: Common |
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