Peaceful Coexistence with Wild Boars

Encounters with wild boars in cities or urban forests are becoming more frequent.

Wild boars are originally forest-dwelling animals, but as development spreads across the country their habitat is shrinking steadily. Maize monocultures near residential areas and urban rubbish bins provide additional attractions for wild boar families. Reports about African Swine Fever (ASF) are also currently causing uncertainty. The virus affects only domestic pigs and wild boars and poses no danger to humans. In autumn, wild boars are particularly active, as they need to build up a layer of fat for the approaching winter months and are increasingly in search of food.

Humans are taking up ever more wildlife habitat. Anyone who encounters wild boars should treat them with respect. By following a few simple tips, there is no reason to be afraid of these fascinating animals.

Nadja Michler, Wildlife Advocate at PETA Germany

African Swine Fever: facts instead of scaremongering

After African Swine Fever had already appeared several times in Poland, the pathogen was detected for the first time on 10 September in a dead wild boar found in the Brandenburg district of Spree-Neisse. The virus causes fever, breathing difficulties and weakness in the animals and typically leads to death within seven to ten days. So far, only wild boars have been affected.

Tips for encounters with wild boars

• Forest walks are perfectly safe: However, in narrowly defined areas affected by swine fever, the competent authority may impose a ban on entry.
• Stay on the paths: As a general rule, it is advisable to stick to marked paths when walking in the forest. This serves your own safety and protects the natural habitat of the forest's animal inhabitants.
• Keep a safe distance: Some wild boars in the vicinity of cities have become accustomed to humans and do not immediately flee. Anyone who encounters wild boars, especially when they are accompanied by piglets, should keep a safe distance and not crowd the animals.
• Do not feed the animals: It is forbidden to feed wild boars. These cloven-hoofed animals feed on acorns, roots, mushrooms, snails, and carrion, among other things, and find plenty to eat in nature.
• Keep dogs on a leash: Anyone walking with dogs should keep them on a leash in the forest or, where applicable, in parks. Dogs may chase wild boars and provoke a reaction from the animals.
• Recognize warning signals: If wild boars snort, raise their tails, or even clatter their teeth, caution is advised. At the latest by this point, one should calmly and slowly begin to retreat.
• Protect gardens: To keep wild boars away, solid fences at least 1.5 meters high that must be anchored in the ground are recommended.
• Report dead wild boars: Forest walkers who find a dead wild boar can report the find, including the GPS coordinates, in the “Tierfund-App.” In addition, the local veterinary authority can be notified.

Wild boars as “gardeners of the forest”

Wild boars are highly intelligent animals and are essential to the health of the forest. By rooting in the forest floor, they mix the upper nutrient-rich humus layer with lower soil layers, which is vital for seedlings. As “gardeners of the forest,” wild boars thus make an essential contribution by promoting the regeneration of the woodland. They also rid the forest of “pests” by regulating the population of chafer beetles. Despite this, the animals are hunted on a massive scale. In the 2018/19 hunting year, through deliberate fearmongering by the farmers’ association over African swine fever, around 500’000 wild boars were killed nationwide.

PETA is fundamentally opposed to hobby hunting. Under the guise of a connection to nature, hobby hunters cause unimaginable suffering. According to the Veterinary Association for Animal Welfare, up to two thirds of wild animals do not die immediately during driven hunts. With shattered bones and entrails hanging out, the animals flee, often suffering from their injuries for days and dying an agonizing death if they are not found during the follow-up search. More on this in the dossier on hobby hunting as an animal welfare problem.