Percepción del impacto de cerdos cimarrones (jabalíes) sobre la producción agropecuaria de Argentina

Abstract

Marcos, A.; Carpinetti, B.; Ferro, N.; Aronowicz, T.; Dassa, L.: Perception o f the impact o f wild boar (feralpigs) on agriculture and livestock production in Argentina. Rev. Vet. 31: 2, 131-136, 2020. To evaluate the perception of agricultural and livestock producers regarding the impact of wild boar on their activity and the environment, a survey was conducted in Ar\xad gentina. For better representativity, the survey was distributed in different ways. A descriptive and statistical analysis of the results was performed. The producers who answered the survey are mostly engaged in livestock activity (96%) but 69% had both livestock and crops. 39% of the producers detected damage to those crops, mainly in cereals (corn, sorghum, wheat, oats, barley and rye) and in oilseeds (soy and sunflower), without significant differences associated to the type of crop (p=0.88). Other damages referred were infrastructure damage (30%), animals attacked (20%) and livestock feed consumption (45%). 37% had or know someone involved in car accidents related to wild boar. From a scale of one (harmful) to ten (beneficial) the average wild boar score assigned was 3.16 (standard deviation = 2.27). However, in some areas of our country they consider the species to be beneficial (significant spatial clustering) due to its use as a hunting species. The wild boar turns out to be a relevant problem for a large part of agricultural and livestock producers and it is associated with several economic losses. Considering that the producers would be benefited with the decrease in the number of wild boars their awareness is encouraging, thinking of developing population control plan. This must be a priority to work inter-institutionally in Argentina, involving environmental authorities and those linked to the agricultural and livestock industry.