By: Andrew Xiao

Officials have called to kill the wild boars roaming across Rome that, in the past

decade, have been blocking traffic, devouring trash, and intruding on the Vatican. Their current decision comes as cases of African swine fever spread throughout the boar population, from Northwestern Italy to Rome.

While the disease does not harm humans and pets, it is deadly to commercially raised

pigs, a job sector that supports around 100,000 jobs. Several countries like China have already imposed increased tariffs on Italian pork in fear of the virus.

In March, the government’s plan to kill 50% of the boars’ population went into action. But

some theorize that eradicating the virus could become an uphill battle.

Angelo Ferrari, an expert assigned to deal with the situation, says, “I don’t see the

eradication of the disease as a possibility, unless you bring about a strong reduction of the

[boar] population. The thing is, there’s just too many of them.”

Still, Rome is trying multiple methods, but its main method includes spreading the virus

within a designated “red zone” sealed off by nets and gates. The city also has modified trash

cans to keep boars out and has set more than a dozen traps outside the motorway surrounding the city.

The plan to reduce the boar population “wouldn’t necessarily require ‘cowboys’ to go

prowling trigger-happy around Rome, but surely we’ll need the help of hunters” with licenses,

Ferrari notes.

Even as this plan to cull boars takes place, some reproduce and thrive in the vast natural

reserves, eventually lured into Rome by refuse. So how did not only Italy, but the entirety of

Europe, end up with such a huge wild boar problem?

The European Landowners Association in their scientific review attributes the sudden

rise in the wild boar population to “a combination of factors,” like high reproduction rates and a lack of predators. The boars then show up in parks and forested areas near urban areas. These include Rome, Berlin, and Barcelona.

Because the virus at play here has no treatment or vaccine and can stick to surfaces,

killing 98% of swine infected, farmers across the country have protested, worried that if infected, their pigs must also be culled.

In early June, David Granieri, head of a local farmers association, told the Washington

Post that because two pigs in a small farm within Rome’s city limits were found to be infected,

they had to cull over 1,200 pigs. In total, more than 14,000 farm pigs had to be culled within the Piedmont and Liguria regions of Italy.

The spread of this disease could impact an industry that makes $20 billion a year

according to official estimates, and the Parma Ham Consortium estimates that $15 million were spent to secure pig farms. According to the same source, import pauses of Italian pork by countries like China, Japan, and others have already caused $20 million in damage, a figure that will only go up over time.

Some animal rights activists, like the head of a local anti-hunting group, Roberto Veccio,

are against culling and instead recommend sterilization, which he calls an unnatural but

bloodless solution.

Link to article: Wild boars that roam Rome must be killed, officials say