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Wild boar in the Miramar playground. SUR
Fuengirola residents concerned about 'daily' presence of wild boar in play area for children
Animal welfare

Fuengirola residents concerned about 'daily' presence of wild boar in play area for children

People in the Miramar neighbourhood say that the presence of these animals is now "continuous", while the town hall points to Mijas as the place of origin and where control measures can be taken

Lorena Cádiz

Fuengirola

Friday, 17 January 2025, 18:50

The residents of the Miramar neighbourhood in Fuengirola, located next to the shopping centre of the same name, are concerned about the "continuous" and "daily" presence of wild boars in the vicinity of their homes. Accustomed to seeing them for many years, but always sporadically, they now claim that for some time now they have settled in the area and they are now coming across them in the morning, afternoon and evening, with the complications and insecurity that this situation generates.

"They are here every day," said Daniel, a local resident who explained that they often settle inside one of the children's playgrounds in the neighbourhood, known as the "octopus park" because of the shape of one of its attractions. "Parents go to the park with their children and when they see the wild boar there, they have to turn around and go home because it is no longer a safe place for the children," he said.

Something similar happens in the dog park right next to the children's area: "Many days when you take the dog for a walk you have to leave because they become quite aggressive with the dogs," he added. According to Daniel, among the wild boars there are many females with young and they feel threatened by the dogs.

José Luis Romero is the president of the Los Olivos homeowners' association, located in Miramar, and he also expressed his unease about the situation. "Before, you would see them at night, but now it doesn't matter what time you leave the house, you find them wandering around at nine in the morning, at midday or at night," he explained, adding that the neighbourhood is located a few metres from the motorway and if one day one of the wild boars decides to cross "it could cause a major accident".

Cat colonies

For the neighbours in this area, one of the main reasons why wild boars arrive there on a daily basis is because of the food in the cat colonies that exist in this area. Specifically, the Los Olivos community has one on each side, according to its president. "They know their way around perfectly well, they smell the cat food and try to eat whatever they can: the problem is that they destroy green areas and fences as they go," he said.

The residents say that they have been reporting this situation to the town hall for some time, but to date everything has remained the same. The council, however, said that it shares the concern of the neighbours, which is why it is "attentive" to this situation and "in contact with those responsible for the neighbouring municipality of Mijas to try to bring them under control".

In this sense, the council said, "The municipality of Fuengirola, from a regulatory point of view, is fully urban and therefore the legislation does not allow the Local or National Police to intervene for safety reasons, either by catching them with cage-traps or by shooting them. These actions can only be carried out in natural areas."

Regarding the cat colonies, the town hall said that "they are not related to the presence of wild boars in the area". The council explained that the colonies are controlled by the department of health in collaboration with an animal welfare group. "The people responsible for this association are the ones in charge of managing these spaces and keeping them free of food."

The council reminded the public that "under no circumstances should they interact with the animals, let alone feed them".

The neighbours are now calling for urgent solutions to a problem that is only getting worse with time. "We don't want them to be killed, we simply ask that Fuengirola and Mijas come to an agreement and send food and water up to the mountains so that these animals don't come down here in search of food," the president of the Los Olivos community said.

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