The Parks and Gardens Department at Mijas Town Hall has spent over 210,000 euros since the start of the year on repairs, replanting and labour in the municipality’s urban green spaces due to a surge in wild boars. These animals wreak havoc in the gardens in their constant search for food, forcing the department to deploy equipment and staff daily to repair the damage.
This was announced on Tuesday by the councillor responsible for the department, Daniel Gómez Teruel (PP), who explained that 16 workers are tasked each day with assessing the damage caused by the animals and restoring the gardens. This work is vital from both an aesthetic and environmental perspective, , as the animals' voracity also destroys technical irrigation systems, which must be replaced to ensure the plants' survival.
- Daniel Gómez Teruel es concejal de Parques y Jardines del Ayto. de Mijas
- I. PÉREZ.
“Four gardeners in Mijas Pueblo, four in La Cala, and eight in Las Lagunas are responsible daily for repairing what sounders of wild boars destroy every night across numerous parts of the municipality”, explained the councillor. In addition, there are weekend duty shifts. Plants, growing media, irrigation system components, water consumption and labour are the main items accounting for this 210,000euro expenditure since January.
According to figures provided by Gómez Teruel and the director of Parks and Gardens, Diego González, the damage caused by wild boars is equally widespread across all three urban centres, with particular severity in urban areas such as the surroundings of the La Cala cultural centre, Calazul, Doña Ermita, the gardens of San Manuel church, Camino de Campanales, El Compás, and La Muralla, among many others.
- Destrozos en una de las rotondas de la avenida de Mijas, junto al camino de Campanales.
- I. PÉREZ.
Damage
Wild boars also prefer the loose, damp soil of newly laid flowerbeds with ornamental plants. They also dig up lawns, destroying them while searching for irrigation systems, which they break to get water, causing flooding, water pipe bursts, the destruction of entire plantations, and extensive property damage.
Another of their habits involves digging up earth to create large hollows, which they fill with water from irrigation pipes, “and these occur so frequently that the damage has barely been repaired before they destroy them again”, reported Gómez.
The councillor added that several factors exacerbate this problem, such as the fact that wild boars are a highly prolific species with short gestation periods (four months) and large litters; the absence of natural predators; and the fact that Mijas has over one million square metres of public gardens.
- Operarios municipales reparando las zonas ajardinadas del bulevar caleño.
- PRENSA AYTO. MIJAS
Appeal to the public
Gómez Teruel also took the opportunity to appeal to the public: “Please do not leave rubbish bags outside the bins, as this is the first place wild boars go looking for food”. He also reminded residents that if they encounter these animals, “it is recommended to notify the local police or environmental officers. Under no circumstances should anyone approach wild boars, as they are wild animals and may react by attacking people or pets”.
Hunting emergency
In June last year, the Regional Government of Andalusia's Directorate-General for Forestry Policy and Biodiversity declared a temporary hunting emergency zone in the region due to damage, health risks, environmental hazards, and road safety risks caused by wild boars and feral pigs.
In its emergency declaration, the Regional Government warned that, given their population density, feeding habits, semi-gregarious behaviour, and proven mobility, wild boars and feral pigs pose a primary threat to the region's countryside and natural areas.
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