Norway must eradicate its wild boar tribe. The decision comes after the outbreak of African swine fever in Sweden. And the responsible Norwegian minister now wants Sweden to reconsider its wild boar policy.
– Nothing is ruled out, but nothing is decided either, says Rural Affairs Minister Peter Kullgren (KD) to TT.
Geir Pollestad, Norway’s Minister of Agriculture and Food, wants to eradicate the wild boar in the country. The decision is a direct reaction to the Swedish ASF outbreak outside Fagersta, which was discovered in September.
At the same time, he believes that the long land border between Sweden and Norway is a dilemma because wild boar roam freely across it.
– Our task becomes very difficult when the number of animals is so high in Sweden. But we hope that the outbreak of African swine fever will cause Sweden to reevaluate its wild boar policy, says Pollestad, to Sweden’s Radio Echo.
“We need to reduce”
In November, he will meet his Swedish colleague, Rural Affairs Minister Peter Kullgren, with a call that the number of wild boars in Sweden must be reduced.
– The Swedish government’s position is clear: we need to reduce our wild boar population. It has already decreased, but it needs to decrease more, he says.
The government wants to motivate hunters and landowners to increase the shooting of wild boar. Kullgren also states that the government is working on developing further measures, without specifying, but he mentions, for example, technical aids.
– We have a Riksdag decision regarding whether we should have wild boar in Sweden, but we agree that we need a significantly lower strain.
300,000 wild boars
With its 300,000 animals, Sweden stands out among the Nordic countries. Denmark has eradicated theirs, while Finland has a few thousand and Norway slightly fewer.
The Farmers’ Confederation (LRF) believes that the tribe should be radically reduced by up to 90 percent.
– The essential thing is not to specify an exact figure, but the essential thing is to reduce the number of wild boars, says the Minister of Rural Affairs and adds:
– We also have different structures on the tribes in Sweden and Norway, so it is difficult to make exact comparisons.
Facts: Wild boar
The wild boar is a native Swedish species but has been exterminated in batches, because the animals caused great damage to agriculture.
In the 1970s, there was a small group of wild boars, fewer than 100 animals, that escaped from their enclosures and lived freely.
In 1987, the Riksdag decided that “wild boars should be allowed to live freely throughout the country to a limited extent”.
Since then, the wild boar population has increased explosively. There are now around 300,000 animals in the country according to the Swedish Agricultural University and the Hunters’ Association.
(TT)