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Date Published: 23/02/2026

Murcia steps up wild boar controls as 20,000 culled each year

Eight new trap cages added amid swine fever concerns and growing urban incursions

Wild boar wandering into housing estates, rooting through farmland and appearing on local roads are no longer rare sights in parts of the Region of Murcia. Now, authorities say around 20,000 of the animals are being culled each year as part of an intensified effort to keep numbers under control.

The regional government has just added eight new approved trap cages in areas where traditional hunting is not viable, including agricultural land, peri-urban zones and spaces close to populated areas. The investment of just over €4,200 forms part of what officials describe as one of the most intensive wildlife management strategies in Spain.

Hunting reserves report more than 12,000 captures per season and, when exceptional authorisations outside designated areas are included, the estimated total reaches around 20,000 annually. In just over a decade, control pressure has increased sharply from little more than 500 animals in 2012 to today’s figures.

Officials estimate there are about 35,000 wild boar in the Region, within a national population of more than two million. As one regional source put it, “In Spain there are more than two million specimens, of which 35,000 would be in the Community.”

More Murcia towns recently moved to begin capture and cull operations as boars strayed too close to urban centres. Municipalities such as Cartagena, Totana, Blanca and Cehegín have reported repeated incursions into residential areas.

These earlier targeted culls around were reported to have brought numbers under control in various areas.

Under the Wild Boar Population Management Plan 2022 to 2027, emergency hunting orders allow year-round action where damage or risk exists. In Cehegín, for example, an authorised drive on Friday February 7 covered 600 hectares with 37 positions and no bag limit for wild boar.

The health dimension adds urgency. The president of the Regional Veterinary Association, Teresa López, has warned that wild boar are among the main vectors of African swine fever in Europe and has called for a “drastic” reduction in their population to protect pig farms.

That warning comes as the outbreak in Catalonia continues, with 155 confirmed cases and an expanded high-risk zone after new positives were detected outside the initial perimeter. Although no farms have been affected, the outbreak remains active.

What was once largely a forestry issue has now become an urban, economic and public health challenge. With wild boar increasingly appearing on roads, farmland and even housing estates, regional authorities insist the aim is clear: keep numbers in check, protect public safety and prevent a larger crisis before it takes hold.

Image: Nadiye Odabaşı/Pexels

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