In the Lot, wild boars have proliferated in recent years and with them the damage caused to agricultural crops. Until now, as in other departments of France, it is up to the hunting federation to compensate farmers. An amount of 800,000 euros last year. But the rules could soon change.
The farmers are not taking off. A new compensation system for damage caused by wild boars must be put in place by the Lot hunting federation. And that doesn’t suit them at all.
“Until now, every year at harvest time, we toured the plots with an expert and defined the losses caused by wild boars. We received compensation commensurate with the losses”explains Yannick Bladié, farmer.
But those days are now over.
In the future, in exchange for free game barriers provided by hunters, farmers will have to forgo crop loss compensation. And the measurement goes badly. “The farmer will have to install his fences alone. We know very well that it is easy to cross, especially for wild boars. It is not 100% effective”, storm Yannick Bladié
This measure also has a bitter taste on the part of the agricultural unions. Farmers are increasingly affected by the damage caused by wild boars. Some have even stopped growing corn and the damage is now visible in the meadows.
“This damage has an impact on farmers. Farmers are caught in a vice. There are more and more wild boars and damage. If there is no more compensation, this poses a problem for farmers’ income. It is absolutely necessary that the farmer be compensated. We are asking the hunting federation to reconsider its decision.” explains Christophe Bonnet,
president of the FDSEA of Lot.
For its part, the Lot hunting federation is justified. The amount of compensation is such that it calls into question its sustainability.
“I understand the farmers’ anger. We have already asked our hunters to make an effort. In 2022, we had taken 4,900 wild boars from the department, we reached 10,000 at the end of March 2024. But we must also protect the crops!“, explains Michel Bouscary,
president of the federation of Lot hunters.
In his eyes, the current compensation system is not viable for hunters. “We recover 100 euros from each hunting license and then, behind that, we ask hunting companies to finance according to their surface area. But for example, one company saw its contribution increase from 700 to 3,000 euros. Hunters can no longer pay We cannot double or triple the damage contribution. If we continue like this, in two years there will no longer be a hunting federation in the department!” warns the president of the federation of Lot hunters.
In 2023, the amount of compensation paid by hunters to farmers amounted to 800,000 euros for the season.
(Comments collected by Jordan Lasserre)
