In Rome, wild boars have been slowly taking over Italy’s capital, eating garbage, slowing traffic, and trespassing on Vatican property. Roman authorities see the pigs as a terrible addition to the city, and whoever is in charge of wildlife in the region has decided that these pesty boars must be disposed of.
Some Romans see the boars as symbols of urban decay, and others find them cute. Perhaps most importantly, some of the wild boars have been found to be infected with African swine fever. African swine fever is a disease that is harmless to humans and pets but deadly to pigs raised commercially. Raising pigs accounts for 100,000 jobs in Italy, and if the commercially-raised pigs die, the workers will lose their jobs. Fear of African swine fever has already forced several countries to ban Italian pork, including China.
The government of Italy set up a task force last March to reduce the boar population, which is estimated to be around several million. Angelo Ferrari is an expert assigned by the government to address the boar problem. He said, “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.”
Even though some boars have been killed, the survivors keep reproducing. Wanting to eat people’s trash, wild boars continue to enter Rome through nature preserves and parks that go deep into the city. The boar population has drastically increased because of high reproduction rates and the lack of any large predators (besides humans) to cull the boars’ numbers. Boars have shown up in many European locations besides Rome, such as Berlin and Barcelona, both of which have parks and other forested areas within the urban environment. The issue gained recognition when the singer Shakira and her son were attacked by a boar in Barcelona Park that snatched Shakira’s handbag containing her cell phone.
The boar problem could put many jobs in the European commercial pig-raising business at stake. It is an issue that must be solved.
Source: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658068976269x129744109329765550/African%20swine%20fever_%20boars%20that%20roam%20Rome%20must%20be%20killed%2C%20officials%20say%20-%20The%20Washington%20Post.pdf
Some Romans see the boars as symbols of urban decay, and others find them cute. Perhaps most importantly, some of the wild boars have been found to be infected with African swine fever. African swine fever is a disease that is harmless to humans and pets but deadly to pigs raised commercially. Raising pigs accounts for 100,000 jobs in Italy, and if the commercially-raised pigs die, the workers will lose their jobs. Fear of African swine fever has already forced several countries to ban Italian pork, including China.
The government of Italy set up a task force last March to reduce the boar population, which is estimated to be around several million. Angelo Ferrari is an expert assigned by the government to address the boar problem. He said, “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.”
Even though some boars have been killed, the survivors keep reproducing. Wanting to eat people’s trash, wild boars continue to enter Rome through nature preserves and parks that go deep into the city. The boar population has drastically increased because of high reproduction rates and the lack of any large predators (besides humans) to cull the boars’ numbers. Boars have shown up in many European locations besides Rome, such as Berlin and Barcelona, both of which have parks and other forested areas within the urban environment. The issue gained recognition when the singer Shakira and her son were attacked by a boar in Barcelona Park that snatched Shakira’s handbag containing her cell phone.
The boar problem could put many jobs in the European commercial pig-raising business at stake. It is an issue that must be solved.
Source: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658068976269x129744109329765550/African%20swine%20fever_%20boars%20that%20roam%20Rome%20must%20be%20killed%2C%20officials%20say%20-%20The%20Washington%20Post.pdf
