Patterns of Agricultural Crop Damage by Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) in South-Western Poland

Studies on agricultural crop damage inflicted by wild boar (<i>Sus scrofa</i>) were conducted in hunting districts located in Lower Silesia, south-western Poland. The statistical analysis of damaged agricultural crops was based on documentation obtained via survey from hunting associations managing 81 hunting districts. For each hunting district (mean area 43.1 km²), this documentation detailed the area of damaged crops (maize, various cereals, root crops, rapeseed, grasslands, and other crops), the date of the damage, and the value of compensation paid to farmers. During three consecutive hunting seasons (2013/14-2015/16) the area of damaged farmlands was amounted to 2098.2 hectares. Maize constitutes 43.9% of the total damage area, while for various cereal crops and grasslands, the figures were 29.5% and 13.2%, respectively. The mean damage compensation per hectare amounted to €421.0, the highest being for root crops (€942.8/ha) and the lowest for grasslands (€214.8/ha). A positive correlation was shown between the wild boar harvest rate and the percentage of farmland area damaged by these animals. Between the 2015/16 and 2022/23 hunting seasons, a decline in the density of harvested wild boar from 1.99 to 1.05 individuals reduced the area of damage from 0.335 ha/km² to 0.164 ha/km² of farmland. Population density control has been suggested as the most effective method of protecting agricultural crops against wild boar.