Quick implementation
Coldiretti Molise welcomes the Resolution of the Regional Council with which the Executive extends the period of wild boar harvesting, through selection hunting, until 31 October 2024. The Organization awaits the consequential actions which, following this provision, may be quickly implemented. To bring the number of wild boars in the area back to optimal levels (two per square kilometer are expected) Coldiretti believes it is essential that the Region implements every useful measure for this purpose, such as selective control (approved with Regional Council resolution no. 36 of 2666.02.2021) which allows intervention even in areas prohibited for hunting, also in consideration of the danger of the spread of African swine fever (ASF) in the territory, of which wild boars are the main vectors. A risk, this of the spread of ASF, which must be absolutely combated, as reiterated by the Extraordinary Commissioner for African Swine Fever, Dr. Vincenzo Caputo, who last November held a meeting at the prefecture of Campobasso, inviting the Region to draw up a specific regional control plan for the species.
Selectors and assistants
Coldiretti Molise's commitment to resolving the wild boar emergency has been incessant, so much so that in recent months the Organization has also trained 184 selectors and assistants who will be able to contribute to the collection of wild boars in the area, bringing their numbers back to optimal levels. Their presence, now out of control, in the territory (estimated at over 40 thousand) is creating very serious problems not only for agricultural and livestock farms, often forced to close due to the enormous damage they suffer, but also for the population, causing road accidents and reaching into residential areas.
Time is running out
“There is no more time to waste – stated the regional President of Coldiretti Molise, Claudio Papa – we need to act quickly against the invasion of these animals which are causing the closure of hundreds of agricultural and livestock farms, already put to the test by the serious economic crisis generated first by the pandemic and then by the Russian-Ukrainian and Middle Eastern conflicts". “In Molise, the damage caused by wild boars – echoed by the Regional Director, Aniello Ascolese – constitutes one of the major critical issues for the primary sector which, it must be underlined, constitutes one if not the first driving force of the regional economy. Furthermore - the Director of Coldiretti recalled - more and more often, these animals cause road accidents, even fatal ones, attack farmers in their daily work in the fields and enter inhabited centers undisturbed, no longer fearing the presence of man, thus becoming a danger. real for the safety of the entire population" (source: Coldiretti).