Damage to crops
The family of wild boars walking along the seafront of Marina di Pisa it is only the tip of the iceberg of the ungulate emergency that has reached the cities and urban centers from the countryside. The out-of-control number of wild boars is no longer a problem only for farmers who continue to suffer damage to crops, 141 thousand euros in 2021 alone, but for the entire community and increasingly for road safety. This was reported by Coldiretti Pisa, recalling how the presence of wild boars, but also of other species such as predators (wolves and canids), has exceeded the limits of the countryside, fueling a feeling of collective insecurity. “Boars, fallow deer, roe deer and mouflon not only devastate farmers' crops but are a danger to road traffic, urban areas and public health. – explains Marco Pacini, President of Coldiretti Pisa – In our province, hundreds of km of state, regional, provincial and municipal roads have become traps due to the high probability of running into a wild boar that suddenly appears in the middle of the road with consequences unfortunately also very serious for those who travel that stretch.
Tragedy is around the corner
It is a fatal moment that can turn into tragedy." There are seven provincial roads considered high risk by Coldiretti Pisa according to a recent mapping. These are the provincial road Castellina Marittima, the provincial road of Colline per Egola (Palaia), the stretch of via Livornese that connects Cenaia to the Quattro Strade (Crespina Lorenzana), the provincial road 13 "of trade", the SR 69 Val di Cecina, the SR 439 Sarzanese Valdera and Tosco Romagnola Est. “Sightings in urban areas are now the order of the day with entire herds which, increasingly pushed towards the cities by predators which in the meantime have also increased exponentially, go in search of food among the bins. – explains the President of Coldiretti Pisa – The balance is off”.
Impressive numbers
According to Coldiretti, the "bearable" presence in suitable areas, i.e. in the woods, has quadrupled. The number of wild boars should be 2,5 specimens per 100 hectares, today we are in the order of 10 specimens per 100 hectares. To reduce the number of wild boars, Coldiretti Pisa also relies on Volunteer Hunting Guards to give an effective and timely response to emergencies linked to wildlife: a figure provided for by article 52 of regional law 3/1994. This is a regulatory instrument, provided for by regional law, which enables authorized farmers to intervene throughout the provincial territory, at any time of the day, under the coordination of the Provincial Police force to contain the emergency linked to the related damages to wildlife. “We need rapid and effective responses as today the interventions are not timely and the effectiveness of the wildlife control tools required by law is nullified. We want to be of help both to our farmers, exasperated by the increase in wildlife, and to the Provincial Police which, due to the small number of agents, is objectively having difficulty in carrying out and coordinating interventions in a short period of time, so before it's too late" (source: Coldiretti Pisa).