Ecology, Conservation and Management of Wild Pigs and Peccaries

Chapter 32: Resolving conflict between farmers and wild boar

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Damage Compensation

In the European Union and Switzerland, compensation for wild
boar damage is paid to farmers in all Member States where this
problem occurs except Portugal, Finland, and Sweden. The
expenses related to compensations are borne by the leases and
owners of hunting districts. The amount of compensation is cal-
culated on the basis of the area of damaged cultivation and the
market value of the crop. As regards grasslands and pastures, the
value of destroyed grass production is augmented by the cost of
restoring the soil uprooted by wild boar (Figure 32.6). Very often,
in order to receive compensation the affected farmer is obliged to
undertake actions to reduce the level of damage, e.g. in Switzerland
it involves fencing maize fields (Geisser & Reyer 2004).

Farmers in Japan are also covered by a compensation system

for wild boar damage, but there the payments are made by the

local state administration. In China, compensation is only paid

in some provinces (Zhang et al. 2009). Compensation is paid by

the local state administration. Farmers in the Russian Federation

are not entitled to compensation for wild boar damage.

The amount paid to farmers as compensation for wild

boar damage is very diversified in particular countries of the

European Union. In Luxembourg, the average compensation

per case of damage amounts to €397.0, whereas it is €477.0 in

Croatia, and €2132 in Italy (Schley et al. 2008; Amici et al. 2012;

Novosel et al. 2012). In Poland it is only €317 (Bobek et al. 2017).

In Luxembourg, compensation for one hectare of damaged

maize amounted to €1252, whereas for one hectare of damaged

Figure 32.4 Wild boar damage in

maize field (photo by Michał Wójcik).

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

March AprilMay June July August September October November

maize

oil crops

cereal crops

others

meadows and pastures

root crops

Figure 32.5 Agricultural crops

damaged by wild boar over three years

(2011–2013) in north-eastern Poland.

Percentage of various crops damaged

during every month is given in bars

(Bobek et al. 2017).

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