The Catalan hunters momentarily lay down their guns. On September 5, the opening day of big game hunting in Catalonia, hunting license holders went on strike for an indefinite period, “for the first time in history”, is surprised The country.
For several weeks, they have been opposing new legislation which obliges them to communicate, upstream and via a digital platform, the place planned for their beat to the Catalan regional ministry for Climate Action, Food and Health. ‘Rural Agenda. An appeal has been filed with the Catalan Supreme Court.
According to the centre-left newspaper, the hunters consider him to be “impossible” for them to comply with this rule, imposed to ensure the safety of residents around hunting areas. They also say “victims” regulations that are too restrictive in their regard.
The vice-president of the hunting federation of the province of Girona, Joan Espona, points out in opposition “impunity” that surrounds other groups of people, “who go to the forest thinking that it belongs to everyone, when it is 75% private [en Catalogne]”.
This autonomous region in the northeast of Spain has around 250,000 wild boars, two thirds of which are concentrated in the province of Girona. Hunters kill more than 4,000 a week, “an insufficient figure given their proliferation”, believes conservative radio COPE on its website.
At the same time, the number of hunters in Catalonia has decreased in recent years. There were 100,000 active in 2008, compared to 60,000 in 2021.
A danger on the roads
Wild boars – and rabbits, to a lesser extent – “cause significant damage to agricultural fields, much to the despair of farmers, who are calling for urgent measures”, add the COPE. It is also not uncommon to see them wandering around Catalan urban areas in search of food.
A farmer sent us this video; it’s spectacular! At least we counted fifty wild pigs!
Serious problem for farming…and for non-farming… pic.twitter.com/YuLQa4VZme— Calendar of Farmers (@caledelspagesos) August 23, 2022
Last March, the centre-right daily The vanguard reported that the wild boar population in Catalonia had tripled in the last decade.
In 2021, wild boars were also the cause of 3,000 road accidents. The Generalitat (the autonomous Catalan government) then promised an investment of 10 million euros over three years to curb the “overcrowding” wild boar and “the damage they cause to agriculture, urban environments and traffic”.