Guadalhorce valley town seeks area to relocate its overpopulation of wild boar
Residents have complained about the presence of the animals, which, as the local council acknowledges, 'roam freely all over the municipality'
Residents of the Capellanía area in Alhaurín de la Torre in Malaga province's Guadalhorce valley have been complaining of the increasing visits of wild boar. Recently, a young woman shared a video of an entire family of these animals taking a walk around a garden area, close to houses and parked cars. The video is proof that Alhaurín de la Torre, alongside other municipalities in Malaga province, has become a regular urban destination for these wild animals.
A year ago, wild boar also visited the El Lagar residential area, where they even led to a traffic accident. Three vehicles were involved in the incident caused by a large wild boar crossing the Carretera de Coín. The animal died, leaving a large pool of blood on the asphalt. One of the drivers' cars and a roadside fruit stall were also damaged.
Alhaurín de la Torre town hall has taken action to limit the proliferation of wild boar in urban areas. The municipality has hired the El Paraíso organisation in order to relocate the animals to forest areas and avoid overpopulation. The ideal spot, however, as councillor Abel Perea says, has not been chosen.
According to Perea, the collaboration of all nearby towns where wild boar have been seen (Mijas, Malaga, Cártama, Benalmádena and Alhaurín el Grande) is necessary, because individual actions will only push the animals to other municipalities. He also urged the regional government to take action, given that a large part of the mountainous area belongs to it.
In the meantime, measures have been put in place, such as the construction of water troughs in the forest areas to ensure that wild boar do not seek water in residential areas such as Pinos de Alhaurín, Cortijos del Sol and Torresol. However, it has also been observed that, as in Capellanía, the wild boars sometimes move along the banks of streams, which may explain their presence in Capellanía, a little farther from the hills. As hunters familiar with the area and its wildlife point out, these feral pigs are highly mobile and, given their large numbers, "have less and less space", which drives them to explore new territory.
The presence of wild boar has increased exponentially in recent years. According to experts, their current population in Malaga province exceeds 20,000.
