One tool in the box: the role of hunters in mitigating the damages associated to abundant wildlife

Gortázar, Christian; Fernandez-de-Simon, Javier

doi:10.1007/s10344-022-01578-7

Cited by 25 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 133 publications

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“…We speculate that wild boar in Asturias may reach even larger numbers of cattle in the autumn than in the summer. On the other hand, hunting can substantially reduce the number of wild boar [30,55,56]. In fact, an efcient hunting season may explain the lower TB prevalence among wild boar in 2018-2019, although infuence from diferences in feld sampling and diagnostic testing cannot be excluded [57].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tuberculosis Epidemiology and Spatial Ecology at the Cattle-Wild Boar Interface in Northern Spain

Herrero-García

Acevedo

Quirós

et al. 2023

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases

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Tuberculosis (TB) is a contagious chronic disease due to infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) bacteria. Monitoring of wildlife, especially potential reservoirs, is important for detecting changes in disease occurrence and assessing the impact of interventions. Here, we examined whether wild boar (Sus scrofa) may contribute to the re-emergence of TB in Asturias (10,604 km2), northern Spain. Although this province was declared free of TB in cattle in November 2021, MTC bacteria remain prevalent in several “hotspots,” with the European badger (Meles meles) suggested as a TB potential wild reservoir. Drawing on data from the Spanish National Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication Program and the Government of the Principality of Asturias covering the period 2014–2020, we analyzed the prevalence of TB in cattle and wild boar in this region. In hotspots (592 km2), we also investigated the ranging behavior and habitat use of five cows that belonged to farms with a history of TB and six trapped sympatric wild boar. During the observation period, TB prevalence was 0.14% among cattle overall and 0.13–0.41% in hotspots, which was much lower than the prevalence in wild boar, which was 3.15% overall and 5.23–5.96% in hotspots. Infected cattle and infected wild boar in hotspots shared the same strains of M. bovis, and GPS tracking showed spatiotemporal overlap between the species, mainly around pastures during sunrise (06:00–07:00 h) and sunset (19:00–20:00 h). Our results suggest that in addition to cattle and badgers, wild boar possibly help maintain TB in northern Spain, increasing the host richness that influences TB transmission risk in the area, which should be taken into account in monitoring and eradication efforts.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tuberculosis Epidemiology and Spatial Ecology at the Cattle-Wild Boar Interface in Northern Spain

Herrero-García

Acevedo

Quirós

et al. 2023

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases

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“…Nowadays, in Iberian open oak forests like "montado" or "dehesa" ungulate populations are often numerous (Gortázar and Fernandez-Simon 2022). In Portugal, for example, red deer (Cervus elaphus) and fallow deer (Dama dama) recovered from near extinction in the 19th century (Fonseca et al 2019), and red deer different national subpopulations have been consistently growing in the last decades (Carvalho et al 2018;Carvalho et al 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating deer density from the number of pellet groups per individual: strip transect vs line transect

Bicho,

Alpizar-Jara,

Santos

2023

Preprint

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Red and fallow deer have become overabundant species in some areas of the Iberian Peninsula, namely in enclosures located in agro-silvo-pastoral systems called “montado” in Portugal and “dehesa” in Spain. Reliable methods to estimate deer density in such conditions are required for proper population management. Inconsistent conclusions regarding the best method to estimate deer abundance from pellet group counts show the need for additional information. In this study, instead of the defecation rate and the pellet groups’ mean time of decay, we use the number of pellet groups per individual (Pgi) to improve the precision and cost-effectiveness of the faecal standing crop approach to estimate deer density. We conducted fieldwork in two fenced areas, which replicated the conditions found in large enclosures in “montado”/”dehesa”. These were small areas easy to monitor and where the number of deer was known. Two methods for estimating Pgi were compared: strip transect and line transect. Results show that the two methods in both study areas presented good and similar levels of precision. For evaluating the accuracy, line transect estimates were used as accepted values. The discrepancy between the line transect estimate and the strip transect estimate in one of the study areas revealed that systematic double counting occurred while executing the strip transect method. Although, bearing in mind the practical recommendations herein made to overcome this problem, strip transect, which is considerably less time-consuming than line transect, appears to be the method of choice to estimate Pgi and deer density in the studied conditions.

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“…Although their efficacy is questionable and varies depending on the local context, some prevention measures used to reduce crop damages are fencing and supplementary feeding [ 31 , 32 ], sterilization [ 32 , 33 ] and hunting [ 31 , 32 ]. Hunting can be used as a tool for wild boar management [ 34 ] to prevent agricultural damages [ 28 ] and limit population growth [ 7 , 35 ], and its effect is linked to several factors such as the number of hunters (in decline) [ 9 ], wild boar population size, number of hunting days (influenced by local legislation [ 34 , 36 ]) and number of hunting dogs used during the hunting operations [ 9 , 30 ]. When wild boar became highly abundant (especially within introduced ranges), beyond causing damages to crops, they can produce negative effects on biodiversity, cause road accidents and transmit infectious diseases to both humans and livestock [ 34 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hunting can be used as a tool for wild boar management [ 34 ] to prevent agricultural damages [ 28 ] and limit population growth [ 7 , 35 ], and its effect is linked to several factors such as the number of hunters (in decline) [ 9 ], wild boar population size, number of hunting days (influenced by local legislation [ 34 , 36 ]) and number of hunting dogs used during the hunting operations [ 9 , 30 ]. When wild boar became highly abundant (especially within introduced ranges), beyond causing damages to crops, they can produce negative effects on biodiversity, cause road accidents and transmit infectious diseases to both humans and livestock [ 34 ]. Therefore, a sustainable and well-planned hunting system focused on reducing the magnitude of these negative effects, and, at the same time, preserving the wild boar populations in their native ranges may represent a solution [ 31 , 34 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of the Wild Boar Hunting System on Agricultural Damages: The North-East of Italy as a Case Scenario

Cecchini,

Franchini,

Benfatto

et al. 2023

Animals

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Hunting is a method commonly used in several European countries to reduce crop damages by wild boar Sus scrofa. However, results are still controversial and poorly treated. Using data on official claims (i.e., damages to crops) and wild boar local counts and hunting bags collected from 2019 to 2022, the purpose of this work was to evaluate the effect of the hunting system (divided into eradication and non-eradication areas) carried out in the north-east of Italy on the number of agricultural damages. The spatio-temporal distribution of wild boar hunting, density and damages as well as the effect of hunting, were evaluated through the hotspot analysis and the zero-inflated models, respectively. The results obtained revealed no clear spatial overlap among wild boar hunting, wild boar density and damages to agriculture in both the eradication and non-eradication areas. Moreover, the current level of harvesting did not significantly affect the number of agricultural damages. A multifaceted approach focused on the numeric control of the species based on accurate local counts and oriented towards more age classes in a similar percentage should be preferred to mitigate damages to cultivars.

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One tool in the box: the role of hunters in mitigating the damages associated to abundant wildlife

Cited by 25 publications

References 133 publications

Tuberculosis Epidemiology and Spatial Ecology at the Cattle-Wild Boar Interface in Northern Spain

Tuberculosis Epidemiology and Spatial Ecology at the Cattle-Wild Boar Interface in Northern Spain

Estimating deer density from the number of pellet groups per individual: strip transect vs line transect

The Effect of the Wild Boar Hunting System on Agricultural Damages: The North-East of Italy as a Case Scenario

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