Boar cull in Estonia will not upset ecological balance, official says
Tanel Türna, head of the Environmental Board's hunting and aquatic life bureau, rejects claims from hunters the mass cull of wild boar, aimed at containing African Swine Fever (ASF), will throw the ecological balance off course and leave predators such as wolves with a lack of prey, Maaleht reported.
A total of 18,000 wild boar are scheduled to be hunted this year to curb the spread of ASF, which has already led to over 20,000 pigs being culled.
Türna said the number is determined with consideration for natural balance: "Among the ASF control measures, one of the most significant is halting and reducing the growth of the population of natural carriers of the disease, that is, wild boar."
The official added that when a widespread ASF outbreak occurred in Estonia between 2015–2017, almost 50,000 boars were culled, but this did not lead to a surge in wolf attacks on farming livestock.
As of August 19, hunters had slaughtered 4,600 wild boar, 25 percent of the quota and, given the main hunting months are still ahead, adviser to the national hunting association Marko Vinni is confident that the quota will be met.
He believes this could upset the ecological balance "a 100 percent and for several years."
"In Estonia, the management of large predators has been very successful," he said, adding: "When food now inevitably becomes scarcer, predators will start moving out, damage and conflicts with humans will arise."
Türna denied this, saying wolves prefer deer and elk and that wild boar make up a small proportion of the diet of the other two main predators in Estonia, lynx and bears
Vinni also noted the abundance of wild boar, for instance, on Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, whose milder winters mean "wild boar can breed longer, from September to March."
To curb the spread of ASF, the state is buying 10 drones equipped with thermal cameras for hunters near outbreak sites, and also to permit hunting with dogs, normally banned in the summer.
Over 20,000 domestic pigs have been slaughtered since late June due to the ASF epidemic in Estonia, across several farms, mostly in South Estonia. An additional dozen farms, the largest pig farms in the country, have had one-month bars on entry by unauthorized persons put in place, and further restrictions are expected.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
Source: Maaleht
