Over the centuries, Gauls, Visigoths, and Vandals have invaded Rome. Now the Eternal City is grappling with a rampaging force of an entirely different sort: rubbish-seeking wild boars.
Farmers refer to male breeding pigs as boars. But in a non-farm setting, all wild pigs are called “boars” or “wild boars,” no matter the gender. Whatever they’re called, drove of wild boars are increasingly a problem worldwide. (See Denmark Fences Out Wild Boars.) China, Europe, Pakistan, and the United States have all had wild boar outbreaks.
Recently, entire families of wild boars have become a daily sight for citizens and tourists in Rome. Groups of 10-30 beasts young and old emerge from the vast parks surrounding the city to trot down traffic-clogged streets in search of food in Rome’s notoriously overflowing rubbish bins.
Posting wild boar videos on social media has become a regular occurrence as frustrated Romans capture the scavengers marching past their stores, strollers, or playgrounds.
This weekend, Rome will hold a local election. Some voters are using the wild boar invasion to attack Mayor Virginia Raggi over the city’s difficult garbage collection problems. Experts say the issue is more complicated—but is tied at least in part to the booming boar population.
Italy’s main agriculture lobby (a group working to influence government officials and policies) estimates there are over two million wild boars in Italy. The region of Lazio surrounding Rome estimates there are 5,000-6,000 of them in city parks. A few hundred of those hogs regularly abandon trees and greenspaces for urban asphalt and trash bins.
To combat the growing herds, Lazio launched a program in 2019 to capture the boars in park cages for slaughter. Last month, the local government approved a new decree to allow selective hunting of boars in some parks. Until now, hunting the beasts was strictly forbidden.
Park overseer Maurizio Giubbiotti says the region needs to increase the boar-gathering from 700 over two years to at least 1,000 annually to get the situation under control.
In Italy’s rural areas, hunting wild boar is a popular sport. Most Italians can offer a long list of their favorite wild boar dishes, including pappardelle pasta with boar sauce and wild boar stew. Foodies insist wild boar tastes much better than plain ol’ pork—with a richer, nuttier, “beefier” taste.
Despite the apparent gourmet appeal, animal rights groups have been adamantly opposed to mass culling.
Most Christians believe they have a responsibility to treat God’s creation well. But they also believe humans have authority over animals. (Genesis 1:28)
Some Rome residents might agree. They embrace the idea of ridding their city of the roving critters.
“I am afraid of walking on the sidewalk, because on one side there are the dumpsters for the rubbish and they [the boars] jump on me,” says Grazia, a 79-year-old grandmother waiting outside an elementary school to pick up her grandchildren. She did not give her last name.
Just down the street, a family of wild boars snorted through the trash.
Grazia’s concerns are valid: Wild boars can weigh up to 220 pounds, reach two and a half feet in height, and measure five feet long. That can make them a threat, especially to the elderly and young children.
“We have been invaded here,” laments Rome restaurant owner Pino Consolati. He says families of wild boars routinely wander through his outdoor eating area looking for food. One day this week, his sister found 30 boars outside her shoe store when she left at 8 p.m. He shrugs his shoulders, saying, “It is not a pleasant situation.”
(Wild boars eat garbage near trash bins in Rome, Friday, September 24, 2021. AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
