We are in 2022 AD. All of France is occupied by wild boars. All ? Nope ! A small corner of Armorica still and always resists the invader. Or resisted. Because according to Yvon Léon, president of the inter-municipal hunting society of Saint-Renan (potentially twelve municipalities, around 300 hunters), they have “invaded” (this is his term) the territory of Brest metropolis.
The number of “samples” in Finistère during the 2021-2022 hunting season was 2,159, mainly due to hunting (almost 2,000), a few collisions (115 accidents), a few administrative beats. Especially in the south and center of the department but also 27 in Plougastel-Daoulas, for example.
Lawns, football pitches and golf courses will increasingly suffer the consequences. And the people in the cities are starting to get embarrassed
Three types of nuisance
“We also reported wild boars in Guipavas, towards the airport, or on the road between Saint-Renan and Milizac, at the Ty Colo roundabout too. Even in Brest, on the ramp near the port, or in industrial areas,” continues Yvon Léon. In short, “the pig is in the corn”, would say the rugby players, to signal the danger. “The wild boar has no other predator than man, and when you have 50 males and 50 females, after three years, you can have 1,200 young! Especially since the sow defends her young. Less than ten years ago, there were hardly any here”.
It’s like deer, which we see more and more. “When I was young, continues this 74 year old man, there was not one, while the rabbits swarmed! But with diseases, these are on the way out. The hare is making a strong comeback because hunting has been limited and foxes have lost 80% of their numbers. In ten years, we will have deer here, they are approaching. There are cycles, like that…”.
The nuisance caused by wild boars is of three types. Economical, with crop damage, especially in maize. “Lawns, football pitches and golf courses will increasingly suffer the consequences. And people in the cities are starting to get embarrassed.” Also safety, with more collisions on the roads, with an animal or a herd which crosses suddenly and which it is sometimes difficult to avoid. And then health consequences, with swine fever, in a region where this breeding is very developed. Not to mention the pressure exerted by the wild boar on other smaller species, which it devours.
Many solutions
The solutions ? There are several, according to our witness. Beatings, authorized during the hunting season, encircling the animals in a clearing or wood. The installation of boxes with a hatch and bait, to imprison them and then recover them. Archery, where possible, at short distance (15 or 20 m), but there are few specialized archers in Finistère. Or, where hunting cannot be done safely, fence fields or feed animals away from sensitive areas. Seeding is tolerated at certain times, when the crops rise, for example. Solutions that would seem, in the eyes of some, a little less difficult.
