By: Rachael Liu

Wild Boars that roam Italy’s capital have wreaked havoc over the past decade, disrupting traffic, lurking around parks, feasting on trash, and even attacking humans.

In recent months, authorities suspect these wild boar could possess African swine fever, a highly contagious and deadly swine disease that can affect both farm-raised and feral pigs. African swine fever doesn’t infect people or pets. But fear of the virus has already caused countries including China to ban Italian pork.

In usual circumstances, the wolves would control the population of the wild boar. But according to Luigi Boitani, a zoologist at Sapienza University in Rome, “The numbers have grown beyond what predators such as wolves could control.”

Angelo Ferrari who was assigned by the government to address the boar crisis says, “I don’t see the eradication of the disease as a possibility, unless you bring about a strong reduction of the population, the thing is, there’s just too many of them.” Wild boar tend to stay in herds or groups. If you spot one boar, there’s likely to be another one right around the corner. The Italian government planned on slaughtering 50% of the country’s boar population.

Others such as Roberto Vecchio, head of a local anti-hunting league, disagree with the nation’s culling plan. He says that “Killing them should only be a last resort.” Instead, they should be sterilized. This would also solve the Italian Pork ban, remploy the lost 100,000 jobs due to the pork ban, and earn back the jeopardized $20 million worth of damage.