Across Europe, wild boar numbers increased in the 1960s-1970s but stabilised in the 1980s; recent evidence suggests that the numbers and impact of wild boar has grown steadily since the 1980s. As hunting is the main cause of mortality for this species, we reviewed wild boar hunting bags and hunter population trends in 18 European countries from 1982 to 2012. Hunting statistics and numbers of hunters were used as indicators of animal numbers and hunting pressure. The results confirmed that wild boar increased consistently throughout Europe, while the number of hunters remained relatively stable or declined in most countries. We conclude that recreational hunting is insufficient to limit wild boar population growth and that the relative impact of hunting on wild boar mortality had decreased. Other factors, such as mild winters, reforestation, intensification of crop production, supplementary feeding and compensatory population responses of wild boar to hunting pressure might also explain population growth. As populations continue to grow, more human-wild boar conflicts are expected unless this trend is reversed. New interdisciplinary approaches are urgently required to mitigate human-wild boar conflicts, which are otherwise destined to grow further.

Growing public concerns about lethal methods to mitigate human–wildlife conflicts place increasing constraints on wildlife management options. Translocations, perceived as humane and non-lethal solutions, are increasingly advocated to resolve these conflicts. The present study summarises the literature on translocations of wild mammals, with particular emphasis on ‘problem’ animals, reviews the impact of translocations on survival, behaviour, animal welfare and potential spread of diseases, and evaluates the feasibility and effectiveness of translocations to mitigate human–wildlife conflicts. Translocations may have a detrimental impact on survival rates and lead to extreme dispersal movements. In some species, stress-related capture results in substantial mortality. In other species, homing causes animals to leave the release area. In addition, some animals resume the nuisance behaviour at the release site. Individuals that survive a translocation may suffer from malnutrition, dehydration, decreased immunocompetence and predation. Supportive measures such as acclimatisation pens and provision of food and shelter can drastically reduce post-release dispersal movements and mortality, although the adoption of these measures increases the cost of translocation. Translocations have the potential to spread diseases to conspecifics, humans, domestic animals and livestock. Health surveillance, seldom implemented, is likely to add significantly to the cost of translocation. Very few studies have reported the costs of translocations or addressed which stakeholders are expected to pay for translocating problem animals. Alternative management options are rarely mentioned. Despite the perceived humaneness of translocations to mitigate human–wildlife conflicts, the fate of translocated animals has been rarely monitored. In addition, very few studies have mentioned whether and for how long the conflict was resolved. We suggest that determining whether the translocation leads to the resolution of the problem should be the main criterion to evaluate the success of the translocation of problem animals. We propose a list of criteria to assist decisions regarding the suitability, effectiveness and humaneness of translocations to manage problems posed by wild mammals.

Diet, food availability and reproduction of wild boar in a Mediterranean coastal areaGiovanna MASSEI, Peter V. GENOV and Brian W. STAINES Massei G., Genov P. V. and Staines B. W. 1996. Diet, food availability and reproduction of wild boar in a Mediterranean coastal area. Acta Theriologica 41: 307-320.The diet of the wild boar Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758 in a Mediterranean area, where agricultural crops were not available and supplementary food was not provided, is described. Diet was compared to the availability of the main food resources and their influence on body weight and reproduction was investigated from 1991 to 1994. Diet varied according to the availability of energy-rich foods such as acorns and olives; pine-seeds were actively consumed, even when their availability was low. When abundant, acorns and olives accounted for most of the diet, and when scarce were replaced by graminoids and juniper berries. In summer, graminoids and pine-seeds accounted for most of the diet. Acorn and olive production was likely to influence both body weight and reproduction. Following a high production of acorns and olives, wild boar exhibited higher body weight, more breeding females and a larger litter size than in years of poor production of these foods.

Abstract. As human populations grow, conflicts with wildlife increase. Concurrently, concerns about the welfare, safety and environmental impacts of conventional lethal methods of wildlife management restrict the options available for conflict mitigation. In parallel, there is increasing interest in using fertility control to manage wildlife. The present review aimed at analysing trends in research on fertility control for wildlife, illustrating developments in fertility-control technologies and delivery methods of fertility-control agents, summarising the conclusions of empirical and theoretical studies of fertility control applied at the population level and offering criteria to guide decisions regarding the suitability of fertility control to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts. The review highlighted a growing interest in fertility control for wildlife, underpinned by increasing numbers of scientific studies. Most current practical applications of fertility control for wild mammals use injectable single-dose immunocontraceptive vaccines mainly aimed at sterilising females, although many of these vaccines are not yet commercially available. One oral avian contraceptive, nicarbazin, is commercially available in some countries. Potential new methods of remote contraceptive delivery include bacterial ghosts, virus-like particles and genetically modified transmissible and non-transmissible organisms, although none of these have yet progressed to field testing. In parallel, new species-specific delivery systems have been developed. The results of population-level studies of fertility control indicated that this approach may increase survival and affect social and spatial behaviour of treated animals, although the effects are species-and context-specific. The present studies suggested that a substantial initial effort is generally required to reduce population growth if fertility control is the sole wildlife management method. However, several empirical and field studies have demonstrated that fertility control, particularly of isolated populations, can be successfully used to limit population growth and reduce human-wildlife conflicts. In parallel, there is growing recognition of the possible synergy between fertility control and disease vaccination to optimise the maintenance of herd immunity in the management of wildlife diseases. The review provides a decision tree that can be used to determine whether fertility control should be employed to resolve specific human-wildlife conflicts. These criteria encompass public consultation, considerations about animal welfare and feasibility, evaluation of population responses, costs and sustainability.

With 4 figures in the text)This paper analyses the temporal variation in the size of home range and activity of adult wild boar (Sus scrofff L.). Eighteen boar were radiotracked between 1991 and 1993 in the Marernma Natural Park (Central Italy). Variations of home-range size and activity were related to sex, winter food availability and population density. The hypotheses that home-range size was inversely related to food availability and population density, and that the amount of activity was directly related to population density and inversely related to food abundance, were tested. The size of the acorn crop was used as a measure of winter resource level. No differences were found in the size of ranges, core area, and activity between males and females. In 1991-92 home-range size was larger than in 1992-93; conversely, activity increased from 1991-92 to 1992-93. Winter food availability was high in 1991-92 and low in the following year. Population density increased greatly in spring 1992 but crashed in spring and summer 1993, when a high mortality of wild boar occurred due to starvation.The decrease in home-range size during the food shortage was explained as a possible strategy adopted by wild boar to cope with starvation. The difference in home-range size and amount of activity found between the first and the second year of study were probably influenced by differences in population density, although the individual effects of food availability and population density were not clearly separable.