A wild boar hunt has been authorised in Malaga province this weekend in a bid to control population numbers.
The hunt, which will involve guns, is scheduled for Saturday (January 17) between 7.30am and 4.30pm on the Sierra Llana, in Alhaurin de la Torre.
The event is being organised by the Sociedad de Cazadores La Torre, and has been authorised by the Junta de Andalucia.
According to the official notification, the operation will involve a wide and continuous deployment of hunters across the area during the entire day and has also been reported to the Guardia Civil.
For safety reasons, the Alhaurin de la Torre Town Hall has prohibited all sporting, recreational and leisure activities in the affected area while the hunt is under way.
Residents and visitors, in particular hikers, are specifically warned not to access the following areas:
- Arroyo Blanquillo
- Arroyo Zambrana
- Jabalcuza (Pozo Povea area)
- Arroyo del Pinar
The council has also asked people not to use any tracks, paths or alternative access routes that could be frequented by walkers, cyclists or nature lovers.
The regional government says the measure forms part of an exceptional response to the overpopulation of wild boar and feral pigs, which it says is causing environmental damage, agricultural losses, and increased risks to road safety and public health.
The policy was reinforced after cases of African swine fever were detected in Catalonia in December, prompting Andalucia to authorise additional capture methods in forested and urban fringe areas.
However, animal welfare campaigners have criticised the use of hunts. Biologist Rosa Mas, from the platform Defensa Animal, argues that wild boar overpopulation is the result of ecological imbalance, particularly the disappearance of natural predators such as wolves.
She warns that killing dominant females can be counterproductive, as wild boar live in matriarchal groups led by a single breeding female.
Removing her, she argues, can cause younger animals to disperse, reproduce more rapidly and become disoriented, increasing conflict with humans.
Mas has called for alternative measures such as crop-buffer planting, chemical or scent repellents – which she says have worked in parts of Alicante – and selective sterilisation, warning against further disruption to ecosystems.
