Wild boar

Since 2006, the wild boar has been an increasingly emphatic presence in Flanders. Some welcome the animal with cheers, others prefer to see it disappear as soon as possible. The fact is that the wild boar belongs to the indigenous wildlife and can be an enrichment for biodiversity.
Ploughed meadows, voracious damage, risk of transmission of wildlife diseases to pigs, an increased risk of collisions … are the other side of the coin. The size and risk of damage is the steering factor in the approach to wild boar in the field but also for the policy in general.
In determining an efficient approach to manage wild boar in Flanders, the Agency for Nature and Forests finds it important that this approach is also supported by society. To arrive at this supported approach, consultation between representatives of agriculture, nature, hunting, special field rangers, and local authorities is necessary. The Agency for Nature and Forests therefore organizes an annual consultation on wild boar per fauna management zone before May 1.

These fauna management zones are areas within Flanders delineated by natural boundaries such as canals or highways, for example…. These natural boundaries hinder the spread and exchange of wild boar from one habitat to another. By dividing Flanders into different fauna management zones, one ensures that the agreed approach responds to local problems as much as possible.

The consultation on wild boar by fauna management zones aims to reach a consensus on the population objective, the joint approach and prevention of wild boar damage. The basis for the consultation is damage indicators.

When a consensus is reached in the fauna management zones, it will in turn form the basis for each game management unit to locally refine this joint approach and prevention objectives. To this end, each wildlife management unit will organize an annual local consultation before June 1.

To make wild boar hunting more efficient, the legal framework for wild boar hunting was optimized in 2014. More information can be found here >