Wild boar management conflict in Latvia

What is it about?

Wild boar can cause significant damage to farmlands, which brings them into conflict with farming communities, but they are also a popular game animal for hunting. This paper looks at the conflict over the management of wild boar generated by these competing priorities. It also takes into consideration the context of being in a post-Soviet country with a low degree of trust and suggests ways to move forward to overcome the conflict

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Why is it important?

Wild boar populations are increasing across Europe posing significant management problems. Hunting is the most effective method of control, but the competing priorities of hunters is a challenge to efficient management of the wild boar in protecting farmland. Additionally post-Soviet countries can struggle with issues of low trust in communities and transitioning from a top-down hierarchical structure to a more participatory approach to combat problems arising within those communities. Thus it is important to understand the issues involved in order to develop better management plans