Urban wild boars in Spain pose growing public health and safety risks, study suggests

A study in Málaga highlights the rising presence of wild boars in Spanish cities and the associated health and safety threats, including hepatitis E transmission and road accidents.

Wild boars are becoming an increasingly visible urban nuisance in Spain, but a study in Málaga suggests the public-health risk may be more serious than the animal’s benign image implies. Veterinarians examining about 80 boars and feral pigs taken from built-up areas found a high rate of antibodies linked to hepatitis E, a virus that can spread to people through contaminated food or contact with infected faeces.

The work comes against a wider backdrop of rapid population growth. The Local reported last year that Spain may now have around one million wild boars, with numbers still rising, while research in Barcelona has described the city’s boars as a genetically distinct urban population that thrives in fragmented green spaces and along natural corridors.

That helps explain why sightings have spread well beyond forests into streets, parks, golf courses and even beaches. In areas such as Málaga, Marbella and the outskirts of Barcelona and Madrid, the animals are increasingly drawn by rubbish, discarded food and occasional feeding by residents.

Experts say the key concern is less properly inspected meat than close contact in public spaces. Boars can run fast, defend piglets aggressively and cause serious road accidents. Authorities continue to urge people not to feed them and to keep their distance.