As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, a reader of Index sent a disturbing video of a dog who had been sadly attacked by Zagreb wild boars and warned that the feral pigs were seen again between Mikulici and Bijenik. He stated that they also attacked a dachshund in some neglected cherry orchards. He also added that there are a lot of people walking dogs and letting them off their leads, which could lead to accidents happening. The disturbing video showed the extent of the injuries the dog suffered as a result of the violent attack.
Groups of Zagreb wild boars are getting braver when it comes to where they roam and are getting closer and closer to the city centre. ”A whole bunch of them walked across the road near the traffic lights. I’m afraid to leave the house because I don’t know where I could come across a feral pig in the dark,” said Djurdja Djuranec for Dnevnik Nova TV. That said, the problem isn’t only fear, but also the fact that pigs destroy everything they come across, from flowers to fruit and vegetables, as well as the eggs of ground nesting birds.
Boar hunters are seeking an urgent meeting with Mayor Tomasevic
The number of calls to the Croatian Hunting Association has only increased. On a daily basis, people are calling them and reporting having seen wild boar wandering around. That’s why the Alliance is asking for an urgent meeting with Zagreb Mayor Tomasevic to discuss the matter and how to handle it.
The president of the Croatian Hunting Association, Ivica Budor, says that they are asking for a meeting “so that we don’t find ourselves in a situation where we have to explain why wild boars are walking along Medvednica, Mikulici and Maksimir today, and maybe tomorrow we’ll be seeing them wandering around Zrinjevac”. Who will be to blame then? asked Budor, who believes it’s only a matter of time before these troublesome Zagreb wild boars reach the heart of the city centre. He believes there are wild boar litters in the city already.
City of Zagreb: We’ll gladly receive hunters for a meeting
The City of Zagreb told Dnevnik Nova TV that they would fladly receive representatives of the Croatian Hunting Association for a meeting, adding that a game protection programme had been established and adopted in the urban part of Zagreb and was being successfully implemented.
Zagreb hunters think the exact opposite, that it isn’t being implemented at all. Miljenko Kruc from the Hunting Association of the City of Zagreb said that these pigs seem adaptable and that no attack on humans has been recorded. That said, they ARE attacking pets and other animals. They’re also carriers of the African swine fever virus to domestic pigs. But so far, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, no case of the disease has been recorded in Croatia.
The City of Zagreb has announced that these Zagreb wild boars that have been spotted in different parts of the city. They explained where they were spotted and what to do if you happen to come across them.
In the urban area of the City of Zagreb, the wild boar is an occasional species of game that migrates daily to easily accessible food and water sources in urban areas, most often in summer-autumn, and in the dry season an additional reason may be access to water sources (Maksimir lakes, Jarun, the banks of the Sava river and various streams).
In this area, Zagreb wild boars, as well as other species of game, are treated in accordance with the Game Protection Programme for the City of Zagreb implemented by the Zagreb Zoo and the Hunting Association of the City of Zagreb.
In order to prevent damage from wildlife, the Wildlife Protection Programme prescribes the following measures: education and cooperation with landowners and users, the procurement of chemical, biological and biotechnical protective equipment and their free distribution to landowners and users at their request, the protection of crops and plantations with the expulsion of wildlife and using protective equipment and scarecrows, etc.
People have been advised that if they notice Zagreb wild boars or other game, they should not approach them and should move away. If they have dogs, they should be kept on their leashes so as to avoid confrontation with these notoriously poor-tempered creatures.
Any information from people who have had run ins with Zagreb wild boars, as well as additional information on handling wildlife and damage from wildlife in urban areas of the City of Zagreb can be given/obtained from the Zagreb Zoo at: 01 / 230-2198 or 091 / 6045-506, email: [email protected] or [email protected].
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