The Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food has activated a new Population Control Plan for the Ebre Lands. The measure seeks to reduce the wild boar population due to the risk of animal tuberculosis. This program is initially valid until the end of the 2029-2030 hunting season. It covers an area of 155,908 hectares in twenty-five municipalities in Baix Ebre, Terra Alta, Montsià, and Ribera de Ebro.
The strategy reinforces the sanitary surveillance of wild fauna. The objective is to avoid the transmission of diseases between wild and domestic animals through an increase in sampling.
The risk of tuberculosis in Catalonia is considered low, with no region exceeding 1% prevalence in positive herds in 2025.
The orography of the Ebre Lands favors the concentration of animals at water points. This circumstance increases the risk of transmission of pathologies among specimens. An increase in hunting pressure is foreseen with drives, watering holes, and night captures. In areas with recent cases, the reduction of females to 80% of captures will be prioritized. Up to 90% of the animals captured in urgent action areas will be analyzed.
During the 2024-25 season, 1,792 wild boars have already been hunted in the area affected by this plan. The measures include the installation of selective waterers and feeders for livestock. These actions aim to improve biosecurity and minimize contact between species. Catalonia has maintained a specific plan for fourteen years to prevent the dissemination of these pathologies.
Currently, the Government maintains four population control plans active throughout the autonomous community. The results of these actions can be consulted in the agro-food, rural and environmental Observatory. The data allow us to follow the evolution of the epidemiological situation in real time.