Animal rights groups call for sterilization methods to control wild boars

Killing feral hogs “unacceptable” for lawyers’ group, as issue resurfaces after pop star Shakira’s park pig attack

A sign warns people of the presence of wild boars in Barcelona's Collserola Park (by Belmez M)
A sign warns people of the presence of wild boars in Barcelona's Collserola Park (by Belmez M) / ACN

ACN | Barcelona

October 4, 2021 01:45 PM

Animal rights lawyers are calling for the Barcelona city council to instigate sterilization methods to control the population of wild boards, as they say killing the beasts, as currently happens, is “unacceptable.” 

Instead, the Commission for the Protection of Animal Rights (CPDA) of the Barcelona Bar Association (ICAB) wants authorities to introduce methods of contraceptive vaccines to cull the spread of feral hogs. 

The lawyers’ group considers it urgent that killings be stopped, replaced with a "legal, effective, and ethical" method such as sterilization. 

The entity of legal experts also expressed their disappointment that the Barcelona council didn’t sign an agreement with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the UAB to evaluate the effectiveness of a contraceptive vaccine.

According to the group, the project is recording excellent results, reducing populations by 500 per year. The agreement signed by scientists states that mass hunting can cause imbalances in the ecosystem of the boars which can actually end up increasing their population.

Shakira boar park attack

The parks and natural areas surrounding the city of Barcelona is home to many of the wild beasts and the topic has come to light again in recent days after pop star Shakira posted on Instagram about her experiences of being attacked by a pair of wild pigs. 

Sharing her tale on Instagram Stories, she held her bag to the camera and told the audience that two pigs grabbed her bag which contained her phone and made off with it to the woods.

She eventually retrieved her bag but showed on camera how the pigs had damaged it. “They’ve destroyed everything,” Shakira concluded.

FOLLOW CATALAN NEWS ON WHATSAPP!

Get the day's biggest stories right to your phone