Lecture on combatting damages from wild boar in protected areas

Lecture on combatting damages from wild boar in protected areas
The local population participated in the lecture “Wild boar and preventing damages to agricultural crops”, and all participants received wild boar repellents.

 On Thursday, 20 January 2022, at the conference hall of the visitor centre of the Public Institute of Krka National Park in Laškovica, Professor Dr. Krešimir Krapinec from the Faculty of Forestry, University of Zagreb held a lecture entitled “Wild boar and preventing damages to agricultural crops”. Through this illustrative presentation, the local population was informed of different ways to protect their lands from wild boar and to reduce the damage caused to crops. A previous lecture in April 2019 introduced the locals to this topic, when they also received repellents, which proved to be successful.

Wild boar (Sus scrofa L.) is the most widespread and numerous large game species in Croatia. Its ability to adapt to different habitats, and its wide diet, reproductive power and way of life have enabled this species to not only survive in the conditions of drastically changing habitats caused by humans, but also to thrive and to spread into new areas. Wild boar are present in the national park area, and accordingly, aggressive methods to protect crops are not permitted. However, in order to reduce or completely prevent damages from wild boar to crops, there are more acceptable methods, such as the use of repellents.

A repellent is a compound whose characteristic, unpleasant smell repels wild boar away from the defended land area: crops, plough fields, orchards, vineyards and other agricultural and cultivated areas. The repellent does not kill or harm the wild boar, instead the smell just keeps them away. The proper and most effective way to use the repellent was explained in detail at the lecture.

The lecture was held in accordance will all epidemiological measures and recommendations.