Wild Boars from Rome must be killed or else the pigs will die. They spread African swine fever, which kills pigs. Several nations, notably China, have imposed import bans on Italian pork as a result of the virus. Plans to reduce the number of wild boars in the nation by 50% were put into motion by a government task team. However, the fight to eradicate the virus may not be easy.
“I don’t see the eradication of the disease as a possibility, unless you bring about a strong reduction of the boar population,” says Angelo Ferrari, an expert assigned by the government to address the boar crisis. “The thing is, there’s just too many of them.”
While some boars are killed, others keep breeding and enter Rome through parks and nature reserves that reach far into the city, drawn by the opportunity to feast on waste. Together, they move about. According to Luigi Boitani, a zoologist at Sapienza University in Rome, “the wild boar is not unlike us: smart, gregarious, lives in groups, incredibly adaptable, omnivorous: It’s an animal for all seasons, all habitats.”
Due to strong rates of reproduction and a lack of major predators, the wild boar population in Europe has dramatically increased recently. In cities like Rome, Berlin, and Barcelona, they have become more prevalent around parks and woodland areas. When singer Shakira claimed that wild boars had attacked her and her son, the issue gained international attention. There are more boars than could be managed by predators like wolves.
Over 3,500 boars have previously been killed in Piedmont by “selective hunters.” According to Ferrari, the task in Rome won’t necessarily call for “cowboys” to become “prowling trigger-happy.” According to Ferrari, the strategy in Rome calls for allowing the virus to spread among the wild boar population inside a designated “red zone” close to the city center that is enclosed by special nets and gates.
Many pigs are in danger in the Rome area, according to Granieri. The risk that illnesses might spread to pig farms in the north, however, is far greater. Just consider the prosciutto from San Daniele and the prosciutto from Parma, Granieri advised. “It would quickly become quite serious.” Over 14,000 farm pigs have already had to be killed in Piedmont and Liguria. An industry that generates more than $20 billion in annual sales would be in danger if African swine flu expanded. According to Andrea Costa, the deputy health minister, “it’s an industry of essential import.” To secure pig farms, the government has set aside an initial sum of about 15 million dollars. “We’re quite worried,” Alessandro Utini, head of the Parma Ham Consortium, which protects the Prosciutto di Parma designation, told The Post.
Rome’s boars are still claiming the city as their own while relaxing beside fountains and lounging on pavements. Even if some of them have attacked humans, local populations in some neighborhoods have nevertheless adopted them and given them nicknames.
“I don’t see the eradication of the disease as a possibility, unless you bring about a strong reduction of the boar population,” says Angelo Ferrari, an expert assigned by the government to address the boar crisis. “The thing is, there’s just too many of them.”
While some boars are killed, others keep breeding and enter Rome through parks and nature reserves that reach far into the city, drawn by the opportunity to feast on waste. Together, they move about. According to Luigi Boitani, a zoologist at Sapienza University in Rome, “the wild boar is not unlike us: smart, gregarious, lives in groups, incredibly adaptable, omnivorous: It’s an animal for all seasons, all habitats.”
Due to strong rates of reproduction and a lack of major predators, the wild boar population in Europe has dramatically increased recently. In cities like Rome, Berlin, and Barcelona, they have become more prevalent around parks and woodland areas. When singer Shakira claimed that wild boars had attacked her and her son, the issue gained international attention. There are more boars than could be managed by predators like wolves.
Over 3,500 boars have previously been killed in Piedmont by “selective hunters.” According to Ferrari, the task in Rome won’t necessarily call for “cowboys” to become “prowling trigger-happy.” According to Ferrari, the strategy in Rome calls for allowing the virus to spread among the wild boar population inside a designated “red zone” close to the city center that is enclosed by special nets and gates.
Many pigs are in danger in the Rome area, according to Granieri. The risk that illnesses might spread to pig farms in the north, however, is far greater. Just consider the prosciutto from San Daniele and the prosciutto from Parma, Granieri advised. “It would quickly become quite serious.” Over 14,000 farm pigs have already had to be killed in Piedmont and Liguria. An industry that generates more than $20 billion in annual sales would be in danger if African swine flu expanded. According to Andrea Costa, the deputy health minister, “it’s an industry of essential import.” To secure pig farms, the government has set aside an initial sum of about 15 million dollars. “We’re quite worried,” Alessandro Utini, head of the Parma Ham Consortium, which protects the Prosciutto di Parma designation, told The Post.
Rome’s boars are still claiming the city as their own while relaxing beside fountains and lounging on pavements. Even if some of them have attacked humans, local populations in some neighborhoods have nevertheless adopted them and given them nicknames.
