Farmers union calls for right to shoot wild boar in Dordogne
If the prefecture labels boar 'pests' then there will be fewer restrictions on killing them
Crops can be rapidly destroyed by wild boar
Dan Gabriel Atanasie/Shutterstock
One of the main farming unions in south-west France is calling for wild boar to be declared nuisibles (pests), which will allow farmers to shoot them without restrictions.
The appeal comes after members of Coordination Rurale complained of increased damage to maize and other crops from the boars.
As well as eating maize directly from the plants, the boars also plough up the ground looking for earthworms and other grubs, which form their main diets.
“The numbers have exploded in the last five years or so, and there are farmers all over Dordogne who see their profits destroyed by these beasts,” said Armand Laporte, a spokesman for the union in the department.
“The chasse [hunt] is not shooting enough boars to make a difference. And anyway, it is unlikely to support our campaign as hunt groups receive money from members each time one of them shoots a boar. They would be reluctant to lose this revenue.
“We farmers have to be allowed to shoot them ourselves, and at night, without being accused of being poachers on our own land!”
In Dordogne, any member of the departmental hunt who shoots a boar has to put a plastic collar on it costing €10, which is paid to the syndicat de chasse.
Read more: How to keep hunters out of your garden in France
What are boar beatings?
There are also formal beatings to hunt boar, called battues administratives organised by the local lieutenant de louveterie – an ancient title given to the volunteers appointed by departmental prefects to look after wildlife matters. These are mainly organised around towns, where boar often install themselves in parks.
“The battues in the countryside take months to organise, involve tonnes of paperwork and are seldom very effective because the boars realise from all the activity what is happening and move away,” said Mr Laporte.
He said that if boars are declared nuisibles, it will be possible for farmers who hold a hunting permit to go out at night and shoot them in the fields.
Restrictions on when boar can be shot – at present only during the hunting season of September to April – would also be lifted.
In Landes department, such a decree has been in force for two years, and Mr Laporte said farmers there were seeing a big reduction in damage to crops.
The prefect’s office in Périgueux told The Connexion they were aware of farmers’ concerns, and in June this year had authorised the use of traps and nets to catch wild boar in 115 communes, in addition to traditional hunts, where there were worries of bovine TB (a disease which spreads to some wild animals from cattle) as well as damage to maize crops.
An experiment with the traps was held between 2021 and 2023 in six communes.
“We are consulting to see if this should be extended across the territory,” the prefecture said.
For the season 2022-2023, official figures showed 951 hectares of pasture and crops were damaged by wild boar, leading to €682,927 being paid out as compensation by hunting federations.
Boar are one of three species where departmental prefects can issue nuisible decrees (now officially called decrees against espèces susceptibles d'occasionner des dégâts) according to a list prepared in 2016 by the Conseil scientifique du patrimoine naturel et de la biodiversité. The others are rabbits and pigeons.
National decrees used to be in force for the exotic species chien viverrin (also known as tanuki), vison d’Amerique (mink) raton laveur (racoons), ragodins, rat musqué (American water rats) and Canadian geese.
Read more: Wild animals on French roads: does insurance cover you for accidents?
Which animals in France are considered a nuisance?
More controversial national nuisible decrees are in place for indigenous bellette (weasles) fouines martre (martens), putois (wild ferrets), renard (foxes), two sorts of crows, corbeau freux and corneille noir, magpies, jays and starlings.
Since 2019, departments are required to draw up their own lists, commune by commune, but the species identified in 2016 are common to nearly all departments.
