A danger to man and agriculture: the presence of wild boars in Lombardy and in province of Varese it is assuming worrying profiles both for the number of road accidents caused by ungulates, and for the damage to agricultural fields, gardens and crops. In 2019, wild boars provoked in the province of Varese as many as 35 road accidents, a figure that places Varese second at the regional level behind only Pavia, without considering the damages compensated to agriculture for a value of approximately 74 thousand euros.
This despite the fact that the number of killed ungulates has increased, from 1222 in 2018/19 to 1452 in the 2019/20 season. “We have to expand the containment of wild boar which is destroying entire crops in the foothills and beyond - says the regional councilor for agriculture Fabio Rolfi - From Rome we have heard many promises in recent months, but few facts. The Lombardy Region goes in the opposite direction: zero ideology and many concrete actions to help affected farmers. In 2019 in Lombardy we counted 128 road accidents caused by wild boar and the Region reported 600 thousand euros damage caused by this species to agriculture».
«In the 2019/2020 hunting season - added Rolfi - 9.200 wild boars were killed in Lombardy, 1.827 more than in the previous season. These are the numbers that demonstrate how selection hunting is effective if supported by advanced and timely rules. In fact, the selection hunt has passed from 2.324 to 3.118. The wild boars are endangering agriculture and also the safety of citizens, just think of the fatal accidents we have recorded ». "The selection hunt - continued the commissioner - will restart in June while the containment activity is active, which is the responsibility of the Provinces to which we have also recently asked for more incisive action ”.
The lockdown was a favorable condition for the proliferation of wildlife. “The lockdown - underlined Rolfi - has favored the proliferation of wildlife. This is why we considered it necessary to change the law to allow boar selection hunting throughout the year even with night vision. It is a possibility granted by national legislation - he continued - that we want to exploit to better protect farms and local communities that are suffering the damage related to the presence of this animal. We await the definitive go-ahead from the Council on Tuesday "(Varesenoi.it).