Zurich: Hobby Hunters Have Failed
Wild boar population remains exceptionally high despite increased culling.
Around the turn of the millennium, approximately 400 wild boar were shot each year in the canton of Zurich . Since then, the numbers have been rising steadily. The increase follows a zigzag pattern: a year with high numbers of kills is followed by one with fewer.
Zurich’s hobby hunters explain the zigzag by pointing out that wild boar only find sufficient food in the forest every other year. In the intervening years, they are forced to search for food in the fields more frequently — where they can be hunted more easily by hobby hunters.
The statistics appear to confirm this pattern. In 2017, 1’441 wild boar were shot in the canton of Zurich. A year later, the figure was 647 animals. The same pattern was reflected in compensation payments from the cantonal wildlife damage fund.
More than a third of all kills in the canton occur in the Weinland hunting district, which also includes the Winterthur district. «We have an extreme wild boar population,» says district warden Martin Hofmann from Volken, speaking to the «Landbote» in December 2019.We have an extreme wild boar population» says district warden Martin Hofmann from Volken, speaking to the «Landbote» in December 2019.
Large sounders are also on the move, with up to 25 animals at a time. The wild boar are benefiting from milder winters, which allow more young animals to survive.
The food supply for these omnivores is also plentiful and continues to grow. Wild boar are additionally benefiting from the increasing cultivation of fodder maize in the region, though the maize is only ripe and available for a few weeks.
Experts and studies also point out that improper hunting practices — in particular the shooting of lead sows — cause even young sows to become pregnant and give birth to piglets throughout the year.
Hunting Pressure Stimulates Reproduction
For years, newspapers have been reporting a “wild boar glut” or even a “wild boar plague.” Yet despite ever-increasing numbers of wild boar being shot year after year, the population continues to rise. Is the solution to the “wild boar problem” to shoot even more animals? Or is it precisely the intensive hunting of wild boar the problem? For as paradoxical as it may sound: the more wild boar are hunted, the more rapidly they reproduce. An increasing number of scientists are pointing to this connection. A French long-term study concludes that intensive hunting leads to significantly higher reproduction rates and stimulates fertility in wild boar.
The scientists around Sabrina Servanty compared, over a period of 22 years, the reproduction of wild boar in a forested area where hunting is very intensive with that in an area where little hunting takes place. The result: when hunting pressure is high, fertility in wild boar is considerably greater than in areas where little hunting occurs.
Furthermore, with intensive hunting, sexual maturity sets in noticeably earlier — before the end of the first year of life — so that even juvenile sows can become pregnant. In areas where fewer hobby hunters are active, wild boar reproduction is significantly lower, and sexual maturity in sows occurs later and only at a higher average body weight.(Servanty et alii, Journal of Animal Ecology, 2009)
Social structure is destroyed by hobby hunting
This study proves that the rapid reproduction of wild boar depends not only on food availability, but also on intensive hunting pressure.
When wild boar are left undisturbed, they live in stable communities in which, as a rule, only the lead sow produces offspring. Pheromones — chemical signalling substances that convey information among members of the same species — are ubiquitous in the animal kingdom. In domestic pigs, numerous studies have shown that, alongside pheromones, social hierarchy influences the regulation of reproduction. When hunting destroys this delicate social structure, it can lead to explosive population growth.
The natural enemies of the wild boar are the wolf, the lynx, and the fox. The latter, however, is also senselessly and fanatically hunted by Zurich's hobby hunters.In the 2018 hunting season in the canton of Zurich, mostly healthy 2’463 foxes and 292 badgers were senselessly slaughtered for sport by militant hobby hunters, without any scientific basis or wildlife biology expertise.
No reversal of this trend is in sight, says wild boar expert Hannes Geisser. Although hunting pressure has presumably increased, the number of wild boar is not declining, says the biologist. «TheNew approaches are needed to significantly reduce population numbers»». Hunting, agriculture, and administration are equally challenged. «At the moment, however, the pressure on the actors still seems too low for the development and implementation of new methods.»
Abroad, they are a big step ahead with birth control for wild boars.
Geneva Model: Professional Wildlife Management
Unlike in the canton of Zurich, in the Canton of Geneva no hobby hunters have been fumbling around in nature for over 45 years.
The wildlife in Geneva is managed by around a dozen professional environmental wardens. No foxes, badgers, or martens are regulated.
This is also reflected in the hunting statistics. In the canton of Geneva, there have been no extreme zigzag patterns in recent years, unlike in the canton of Zurich. In 2017, 225 wild boars were shot in the canton of Geneva. A year later, the figure was 194 animals (2016: 169, 2015: 181, 2014: 176, 2013: 194).
Due to the high hunting pressure in the surrounding areas of France and the canton of Vaud, wild animals even seek refuge in Geneva. The hunted animals sometimes swim across the Rhône into the canton.
The costs of professional hunting management are not an issue. Neuchâtel anthropologist Manue Pichaud has calculated them precisely. According to Pichaud, they amount to one million francs per year, i.e. CHF 2.20 per resident, or a subsidy to agriculture of just over 3%.
By comparison, fisheries would consume considerably more costs, even though licenses are sold there.
The professional conservationists in the canton of Geneva also carry out a wide variety of other tasks such as monitoring fisheries, supervising nature reserves, preventing wildlife damage, and performing special tasks related to forests and agriculture. For this, they share just under 3 full-time positions.
Around 1 full-time position, or an average of 1’621 hours, is devoted to culling wild boars. The majority shot are piglets (around 80%). Today, around 5 wild boars live per square kilometer of forest — a low level that remains stable.
