Part III: Conservation and Management344
To cool out and for traditional display, the hunting bag is laid
out or hung up. The hunters having shot the game/trophies are
named and congratulated by the organizer. All participants hon-
our the game by their presence, and traditional music is played
on the horn. For the sake of conservation of the wild boar meat,
depending on the region and season, the hunting bag is quickly
taken to a fridge and the ceremony is shortened or dropped. In
some countries, e.g. Spain, little importance is given to ‘honour-
ing’ the hunting bag.
The wild boar meat of the hunting bag (including animals shot
by invited hunters) usually belongs to the tenant of the hunting
area. In France, the meat is portioned and each participant ‘draws’
his piece. In Spain, the meat is distributed to the participating
hunters, whereas in Slovenia, the carcass has to be sold in one
piece. In the case of a CSF or ASF outbreak, the carcasses have to
be analysed and may be available for consumption only when the
tests are negative. Positively tested carcasses have to be destroyed.
The tusks, the trophy from wild boar males, are usually
handed to the hunter who shot the animal; this can be either for
free or for a payment. In Hungary, tusks over 16 cm have to be
submitted to inspection by a committee; extra large trophies can
be graded as national value, in which case the hunter receives a
copy and a compensatory payment.
At their first wild boar kill, hunters may undergo an initiat-
ing ceremony. This consists of eating (a small) part of the liver,
drinking some blood, or having the face painted with blood
from the freshly killed animal or receiving several strikes on
his behind while kneeling beside/leaning on the boar. They
often include the honouring of Saint Hubertus or the hunting
goddess Diana.Other Methods Used to Decrease the Wild Boar
Population Numbers
In recent years, public opposition to shooting and poisoning to
manage wildlife has become widespread because of animal wel-
fare issues, concerns about human safety and the environmental
impact of toxicants, particularly in urban and peri-urban areas
(e.g. McCann & Garcelon 2008; Reidy et al. 2008; Cahill et al.
2012). This opposition has encouraged state agencies and local
authorities to consider safe, effective alternative methods to
resolve human–wild boar conflicts.
Live-trapping is widely used to control wild boar popula-
tions and can effectively remove large numbers of animals,
particularly in areas of high density. Traps include corrals that
can capture large groups of wild boar and smaller models that
can capture single or small groups of animals (e.g. Saunders
et al. 1993; Barasona et al. 2013) (Figure 31.4). Large traps that
allow the whole social group to be captured are likely to have
little impact on social behaviour. This is particularly important
because social perturbation may lead to increased contact rates,
with the potential risk of increasing disease transmission. The
food frequently used to attract wild boar to traps include maize,
fermented wheat, vegetable or fruit, blood or animal parts (e.g.
Cruz et al. 2005; Ballesteros et al. 2009).
As maintaining and regularly checking traps can be oner-
ous, trapping can only be applied over relatively small areas.
However, traps can be moved and redeployed to other areas
and trapping can be fitted around other routine control activi-
ties. Trapping success depends on topography, time of the year,
type of trap used, number and density of traps deployed, trapFigure 31.4 Wild boar trap (photo by
Tamás Tar i). (A black and white version of
this figure will appear in some formats.
For the colour version, please refer to the
plate section.).03312:55:50