Record Wild Boar Numbers: Can Meat Be the Solution in Sweden?

Sweden is contending with an unprecedented surge in its wild boar population, estimated at over 570,000 before hunting season and 325,000 afterward. This overpopulation is leading to substantial societal costs, including millions in agricultural damages and a sharp increase in traffic accidents. The mild winters of recent years, coupled with abundant food sources like acorns and fruit, have fueled rapid reproduction.

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The rapid increase in wildlife accidents involving wild boars has been broken now. But we still have a record-large population.

Authorities, including the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket), the Swedish Hunters' Association (Svenska jägareförbundet), and the Federation of Swedish Farmers (Lantbrukarnas riksförbund), agree that the population needs to be reduced. However, the extent of this reduction and the strategies to achieve it are subjects of ongoing discussion. A key recommendation is a significant increase in hunting efforts sustained over several years to bring the population down to a more manageable level.

While regulations now permit year-round hunting (excluding sows with piglets) and allow the use of night vision equipment, simplifying the process for selling wild boar meat remains a hurdle. Hunters face complex requirements for tri-chines and cesium testing, maintaining cold chains, traceability protocols, and veterinary inspections. These administrative and logistical burdens increase the cost of locally sourced wild boar meat, paradoxically leading Sweden to import the product from other European countries.

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Hunters must shoot a lot to break the upward trend, and high shooting rates must be maintained for several years to reduce the population to a lower level.

Carl-Johan Djurstedt Holm, Secretary-General of the Swedish Hunters' Association, advocates for further regulatory simplification and the implementation of dynamic procurement systems. This would allow public kitchens to purchase wild boar meat when supply is highest, thereby increasing demand and providing hunters with stronger incentives to increase their kill rates. The economic impact is considerable, with agricultural crop damages alone estimated at around 300 million Swedish kronor in 2023.

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Through allowing public kitchens to purchase wild boar meat when supply is greatest – during the autumn and winter hunt – demand can increase and give hunters incentives to shoot more animals.