Portugal Turns to Hunting to Control Wild Boar
Portugal is pursuing a strategy to reduce wild boar numbers through hunting and extraordinary density adjustments, but the widely reported figure of almost 300,000 animals does not come from a current count: it is an estimate based on data collected in 2021 and subject to a wide margin of variation.
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Areport published by Le Chasseur Français has once again drawn attention to the spread of wild boar in Portugal and the use of hunting to reduce its impact. The French publication cites around 300,000 animals in mainland Portugal, as well as agricultural damage, accidents and incursions into urban and tourist areas.
The official documents reviewed confirm the approximate scale of the figure, although they also require it to be qualified. A health declaration by Portugal’s Directorate-General for Food and Veterinary Affairs gives a central estimate of 277,385 wild boar, with a range of 163,157 to 391,612. The data used were collected between January and December 2021 by the University of Aveiro as part of the Wild Boar Strategic and Action Plan promoted by the ICNF.
An Estimate, Not a 2026 Census
The Portuguese documentation itself warns that the figures represent an estimate of abundance by hunting area, not a density calculated per unit of land. The range was obtained by applying an average coefficient of variation of 0.41 to the local estimates. Presenting the 300,000 animals as an exact and current snapshot of the population may therefore be misleading.
The Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests explains that the plan was developed by the University of Aveiro’s CESAM between September 2020 and December 2022. Its objectives included determining the size of the population, assessing the animals’ condition and analysing the habitat and factors associated with damage. The agency considers that this information should be used to design sustainable management and mitigate damage to agriculture and forestry, as well as health risks.
Official sources do describe a population whose development requires intervention. The technical recommendations include concentrating hunting effort at the start of the season, favouring collective methods over individual ones when a greater population-level effect is sought, and directing part of the cull towards females and subadult animals. These are proposals contained in the plan, not new obligations approved in August 2026.
Extraordinary Density Adjustments and Health Surveillance
The most specific measure identified for 2026 is Notice No. 1/2026, signed on 19 February. The decision allowed hunting-area owners and managers to use the RUBUS system to request extraordinary density adjustments through driven hunts between 1 and 15 March. Each application had to be assessed individually and could be authorised only if it did not compromise the site’s conservation values.
The ICNF justified these measures on the grounds of preventing African swine fever, damage to agricultural crops and forests, and road accidents. It also noted that weather conditions had prevented many scheduled driven hunts from taking place. The document therefore confirms a temporary increase in control efforts, but does not in itself demonstrate that new national regulations were adopted this August.
Health surveillance completes the strategy. The DGAV states that the last outbreak of African swine fever recorded in Portugal occurred on 15 November 1999. The disease does not affect people, but it can cause high mortality among swine and serious economic consequences. Portugal requires suspected cases to be reported and allows wild boar found dead to be reported through the ANIMAS application.
Exposing the Big Game 