Man killing raises questions on wild boar population in Italy

The death of a man who was attacked and killed by a 100 kg wild boar in Italy at the weekend has raised questions about the growing wild boar population in the country, local media reports said.

On Monday, the regional government of Sicily, where the accident happened, declared a state of emergency over the problem.

Salvatore Rinaudo, 77, was reportedly killed close to his house in a northern zone of the island. His wife was injured, though not seriously, as she intervened to protect him. She said the man was trying to defend his dogs when the boar attacked him.

Sicily, however, is not the only region in Italy populated by wild boars. According to Italian experts, there are between 600,000 and one million wild boars across the entire country.

The animals, reintroduced into Italy over the past decades after they had almost disappeared at the beginning of last century, destroy crops and cause car accidents every year. They have sharp teeth, and although do not attack people unless they are provoked or feel in peril, have been known to harm people.

"It is a national emergency," Coldiretti, Italy's largest farming association, said in a statement released after Rinaudo's death, urging Italian authorities to address the problem.

The emergency, Coldiretti said, was caused by an "uncontrolled proliferation of wild boars that destroy crops, exterminate farm animals and provoked road accidents with an estimated damage at almost 100 million euros (nearly 110 million U.S. dollars) in 2014, besides to putting lives in danger."

The situation is serious, the association explained, with groups of wild boars led by animals weighing up to 150 kg who can even enter into houses. "Security in rural areas and outskirts is endangered," the statement said, adding the threat also affects those who love trekking or picking mushrooms. Coldiretti noted wild boars have almost increased tenfold over the past 10 years.

Carlo Lappa, a mountain lover and professional boar hunter who lives in the central region of Marche, explained to Xinhua that with no one except for wolf and man to hunt it, wild boar has become the king of the forest.

Lappa said the prosperous forest and planted crops in all regions of Italy have offered favorable living conditions for wild boars, which have strong reproductive abilities and can give birth to as many as eight cubs twice a year.

As for countermeasures to take regarding the swelling boar population, there are different views upon what to do, and one is hunting. Italy allows hunting teams to kill wild boars in areas that are marked for safety reasons, while national parks have stricter regulations, Lappa went on explaining.

Hunting teams are generally composed of between 30 and 80 members, he told Xinhua, and kill dozens of boars during the Oct.-Jan. hunting season. "Boar meat is generally shared among the team hunters or sold to restaurants," Lappa said.

However, he pointed out, it is fundamental that the killed boars are always seen by a veterinary before being eaten in order to exclude possible diseases. "Some might be affected by different types of infections, and I also know cases of TB found in the past," Lappa told Xinhua, warning of the risk posed by a number of poachers who do not respect health requirements. Endit