Part III: Conservation and Management342
To reduce the risk of undesirable changes regarding the gene
pool and population structure of wild boar during density con-
trol harvesting, it is desirable to follow the processes within the
survival patterns of unhunted populations. However, this does
not mean that hunting mortality should mimic natural mortal-
ity patterns. When large predators are present on a specific terri-
tory and hunting does not compensate the natural mortality by
100 per cent (including the natural mortality caused by preda-
tors), then natural mortality needs to be taken into account when
planning the harvest of wild boar (see also Bischof et al. 2008).
Although hunting mortality is decisive regarding the popu-
lation growth rate (Massei et al. 2015) and predation seems to
have a low impact on yearlings and adults, higher mortality rates
by wolf predation may be assumed for piglets (Jędrzejewski et al.
1992; Nores et al. 2008). Hunting adds to ungulate mortality
caused by predation (Jędrzejewski et al. 2000); therefore, this
fact has to be taken in account when setting harvest numbers
in areas with large predators like wolves or lynxes. Moreover, it
seems that even golden jackal are capable of preying on piglets
(personal communication of local game wardens in Hungary
and Romania), although this impact has not yet been quanti-
fied. If large predators are present, one viewpoint while planning
the harvest could be to spare the juveniles, as they are important
targets for predators.
The question remains: what kind of harvest strategy is needed
to minimize the demographic disturbance induced by artificial
harvest? According to Bischof et al. (2008), in the absence of
compensatory mortality, an unbiased harvest does not alter the
post-mortality trait distribution expected in the absence of har-
vest. However, it is unlikely that any hunting method that exists
is unbiased. Even drive hunts (or monteria in Spain) are to some
degree selective. On the one hand, hunters often tend to shoot
the bigger females leading the groups because they emerge from
the dense vegetation first and are easier to hit; on the other hand,
adult males are often more solitary and have a greater chance of
escaping. Accordingly, it is probable that the most effective way
to mimic the natural sex and age distribution in hunted popula-
tions would be to combine the individual selective hunts with
drive hunts or, to be more specific, the biased harvest of drive
hunts could be corrected with individual selective hunts.Hunting – Seasons, Methods and Legislation
The presented techniques, weapons, traditions, but also part
of the legal framework for hunting wild boar, represent only
the main trends in Europe and some exceptions. These are
based on the personal communication of O. Belova, S. Cellina,
K. Flajšman, A. Náhlik, R. Plhal, K. Plis, T. Podgorski, B. Pokorny,
and C. Rosell, as well as Putman et al. (2011).Hunting TechniquesIndividual Hunting
Stalk hunting. In a stalk the hunter walks quietly through the
hunting area, on paths, trying to find wild boar.
This can be carried out like ‘a series of short lookouts during
a walk’, leading to the places where boar presence is most prob-
able (resting, wallowing or foraging sites, including crop fields
and baiting sites).Following fresh tracks in the snow during the day is a differ-
ent form of stalking.
Lookout hunting, with or without bait. In lookout hunting
the hunter sits at a lookout and waits for wild boar to arrive.
The lookout most often consists of a raised hide, placed in a
strategically chosen location (e.g. at the border between a field
and woodland, or at a well-frequented pass or wallowing place).
Hunting from a lookout is carried out mainly during dusk or
dawn, or, where this is legal, during the (moonlit) night.
Baiting is often used to attract boar to the lookout, the main
items used are dry maize, cereals (waste products), fruit, ‘beech
tar’, or a salt-lick. In some regions, this is the main technique
used, in others it is seen as rather unethical to shoot animals
at bait. It is difficult to determine the quantities of baiting nec-
essary to increase the efficiency of hunting without turning it
into a food source, potentially increasing fitness and reproduc-
tion. The rules differ highly between the countries and over
time. In Spain, for example, baiting is not generally allowed,
but if authorized it can be limited. In eastern Europe, especially
in those regions touched by the African swine fever outbreak
in 2014, feeding of wild boar has been forbidden and baiting
has been regulated, i.e. restricted. Still, the regulations do differ
greatly: for example, baiting is restricted, in certain regions of
Poland, to 10 kg/km^2 /month, and to 100 kg/baiting point (with
up to 10 baiting points/1000 ha) in Lithuania.
Night hunting. In numerous countries wild boar can be
hunted during the night. This hunt is carried out mainly in
habitats offering good light conditions, like open landscape,
broadleaved old-growth forests in winter or forest clearings,
from a lookout, often using bait or on the edge of a crop field
and preferably during moonlit nights. Controversially, the use
of artificial light or night-sight devices is limited: in Germany,
night-sight devices are allowed, but they cannot be mounted on
the rifle; the same counts for Spain, where night hunting can be
authorized for population control in protected areas; in Poland,
Slovenia and certain regions of France, night hunting of wild
boar is permitted, but not so the use of artificial light sources.
In Hungary, Lithuania and the Czech Republic the use of night-
sight devices is forbidden (can be allowed in CZ), whereas a
spotlight mounted on the rifle underlies a special permission,
usually given for reducing crop damage.
Social Hunting
Battue. In battue hunting, the tenants of one hunting area invite
between 10 and 40 hunters and three to about 20 beaters, with
their dogs (where allowed), to hunt together. The hunters are
posted around or within the tracked area. The beaters walk
through the area in one or several groups or in line, trying with
the help of the dogs to find wild boar and to make them move
towards the hunters. The animals can be shot when moving,
usually from a relatively short distance (30–50 m).
Big battue hunts are often announced some weeks before-
hand and the hunted area is indicated with signs to inform walk-
ers or bikers. Access to the hunted area can be forbidden (e.g. in
Belgium). Usually one hunting area is divided into smaller areas
(50–200 ha) that are tracked one after the other.
The beaters are either (semi-)professionals with their own
dogs, paid by the tenants, or local volunteers, leading the hunter’s.03312:55:50