When a wild animal adapts to an urban environment, we have problems. This is a common thing in the United States in major cities where it is not unusual to see raccoons, eagles, or even coyotes. Interestingly, these “urban” wild animals have been found to have a longer lifespan than their wild cousins. This is also starting to happen to wild boars in cities like Barcelona in Spain.

It’s a problem, and we already know how to prevent it from causing damage: by protecting garbage containers.

Urbanization of wild pigs. The growth of the wild boar population in Catalonia has not stopped in recent years. There are areas like Girona where they have become a plague, but in 2022 they have spread to the big city. They are a highly adaptable species if they have food, water and shelter that is easy to obtain in the city centre, and they seem to like some of the surrounding areas of Barcelona.

Beyond the accidents they may cause, discomfort occurs due to the containers that are their preferred food source. So they turn them upside down to find food, causing destruction and discomfort.

Protection of containers. Therefore, in 2022, the Barcelona City Council launched a pilot program using an old technique: walling up containers. Thus, the containers in three areas (Belladona Street, Teix Square and the intersection of Aigües Road and Carroç Street) were protected by wooden fences and the program appears to have been successful. So much so that it ceased to be an ‘experiment’ and became an organized defense system.

More than 100,000 Euros. Seeing that fences were a good option, the City Council announced a few weeks ago that they would start installing more of them in the Vallvidrera, Tibidabo and Planes neighborhoods. The works, which started after Easter, will have a budget of 111,652.19 euros and will last 3 months.

In total, there will be a further 22 fences that will not only protect the containers with that ‘wall’ but will also include anchors so that it will be impossible for wild boars to knock over the containers if the initial defenses fail.

Additional precautions. In addition to direct defenses, the City Council’s defense plan also includes other points. One of these would be to experimentally change the design of some green areas to make them less attractive to wild boars (for example, the border areas of Collserola). We will also work with feeders of cat colonies in mountainous regions to prevent animals from eating the cats’ food. For example, in concrete structures.

And finally, through citizen awareness as wild boars may feel comfortable with the actions of those living in affected areas. Therefore, it is recommended that you keep an eye on the food in the picnic areas and do not give them food as this will encourage them to be around. It is also encouraged not to touch them due to the risk of attack or bite, to drive carefully, and to make noise and gestures to scare them.

Picture | Barcelona City Council, Peter Maas

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