Mação to meet hunters and wildlife agency over wild boar surge

The Mação council will meet hunting associations and the ICNF on 11 September to tackle a growing wild boar presence across the municipality. Mayor José Fernando Martins said the animals are entering villages, destroying crops, damaging municipal property and causing road accidents. He linked the rise partly to abandoned farmland, which has pushed boars closer to homes in search of food. Residents have been asked not to feed the animals and to keep bins secured. The ICNF estimates around 300,000 wild boars now live in mainland Portugal.