Haifa sees sharp decline in wild boar encounters under new mayor's leadership

The frequency of wild boar encounters and the sense of harm they cause in Haifa have significantly decreased about four months after Yona Yahav assumed office as mayor of the northern city.

A new survey conducted at the University of Haifa during the first half of August revealed that the percentage of residents who had never encountered wild boars increased from 10% to 31% - more than three times the original amount.

The survey also revealed that the percentage of residents who encountered wild boars two to three times a week or more has dropped from 27% in February to 10% in August. The percentage of residents who met a wild boar once a week or more dropped from 52% to 34%.

"Presumably, this decrease resulted from the municipality's policy, which primarily includes the culling of wild boars in large numbers, as well as other measures such as fencing, frequent emptying of garbage bins, and a public campaign to prevent the feeding of wild boars," noted Professor Itai Bar-Ilan, head of the Department of Public Administration and Policy at the School of Political Science at the University of Haifa, who conducted the survey.

The survey, conducted as part of a multi-year study, included 406 Haifa residents. It also confirmed that wild boars remain the most pressing issue for the city's residents, though the sense of personal harm has decreased from 2.7 on a scale of 1 to 5 to 1.8.

Regarding support for municipal policies on dealing with those who feed wild boars, the survey shows that 86% of residents believe there should be increased supervision, fines, reporting to the 106 hotline, and public awareness campaigns against feeding wild boars.

However, a significant minority of 11-19% expressed opposition to policies aimed at reducing wild boar feeding.  Additionally, 78% of residents support a catch-neuter-return-to-the-valleys program (which is not currently in use), while 16-17% expressed opposition to this practice.

The survey further indicated that 84% of the residents support culling adult and rogue wild boars that enter the urban area, even after criticism of the extensive use of this policy. However, support for culling drops to 47% when it comes to piglets, pregnant sows, or lactating sows. In these cases, a relatively strong opposition is evident, with 45% of citizens opposing culling.

Survey conclusion

"The extent of wild boar culling in February 2024 was relatively low, which led to less criticism and opposition from citizens. However, from March to August 2024, although the public 'benefited' from the municipal policy that reduced friction with wild boars, they were also exposed to scenes and reports that increased criticism of the municipality’s approach. Essentially, the Haifa public prefers to 'have it both ways,'" Prof. Bar-Ilan concluded.