Unións Agrarias plans to ask the Ministry of the Environment to activate the hunting emergency status "as soon as possible" in those regions with a large area of forage corn, located mainly in the provinces of A Coruña and Lugo, where, according to their data, 60% and 32% of this crop are concentrated, respectively.
At the same time, the agricultural organization proposes to replicate in other areas the cooperation system between farmers and hunting societies that works in Lalín, in the O Deza region (Pontevedra), with the aim of designing preventive actions and "staying ahead of the damage" that wild boars cause each year to corn crops.
To this end, they warn that "there is a lack of an orchestra director" from the ministry and "the score" which, in their opinion, should consist of "mandatory" prevention plans in each 'tecor' (managed hunting ground), so that the response to wildlife is coordinated.
In a press conference, the spokespersons for Unións Agrarias, Jacobo Feijóo and Félix Porto, have highlighted the "indignation" existing in many farms that, campaign after campaign, lose on average, according to their estimates, "at least" around 4-5% of the corn intended for livestock feed. In certain farms, they maintain, the damages reach between 12-20% of the production.
14 million euros in losses each year
"We hope the proposal will be well received," said Feijóo, in the face of the "repeated and growing harassment" by wild boars and its economic consequences for the Galician countryside.
For his part, Porto has estimated the annual losses derived from the attacks of this species at 14 million euros and has requested the convening of the working group with the regional department given the "need to anticipate" and not limit ourselves to repairing the damage once it has occurred.