The spectacle did not leave us indifferent, this Monday, November 25, in Rennes in front of the gates of the DDTM, the Departmental Directorate of Territories and the Sea. Around fifteen wild boar corpses were placed in front of the premises duringa punchy action led by the FDSEA of Ille-et-Vilaine and the Young Farmers 35. The wild boar population is exploding in the department and the damage is enormous in corn and wheat fields and even in meadows. 6,000 wild boars were killed in 2023 in Ille-et-Vilaine, but this is too little for farmers, who want hunters to go much further.
Damage in the fields
Around a hundred farmers gathered in front of the gates of the Departmental Directorate of Territories and the Sea to listen to the speeches. The Paimpont sector is particularly affected by the proliferation of wild boars. “This is one of the big black spots in the Ille-et-Vilaine department.“, testifies Yves Rolland, breeder and member of the FDSEA. “Every year, around 25% of my farm is impacted by the passage of wild boars and even deer. I have the impression that we are going back 30 years when we started to challenge the administration. and the Hunting Federation to reduce populations.“Etienne Bricet, pig breeder in Acigné, fears contamination of swine fever by wild boars.
For free bracelets
It is the Departmental Federation of Hunters which must compensate farmers in the event of damage to their plots, this is an obligation enshrined in law. Among the sources of financing in Ille-et-Vilaine, the bracelet paying 40 euros for each wild boar killed over 25 kilos. But it costs the hunter dearly. The two unions are demanding free bracelets to speed up samples. “The hunters can no longer pay, they too are out of breath“, says Cédric Henry, president of the FDSEA 35 “so we come to ask for free bracelets to kill more because the wild boars are increasing the damage in the four corners of the department“.
Wild boars were once present near forests, now they are everywhere, deplores the representative of the majority agricultural union. For his part, the deputy director of the DDTM, who came to meet the farmers, intends to reassure them by announcing in particular the classification of wild boar as a pest (precisely a species likely to cause damage) to enable them to be trapped.
Fences
Farmers are also calling for fences along forests to protect farms. “It's more livable, we have to find solutions“, shouts into the megaphone Mireille Rolland, the wife of Yves, both farmers in Paimpont. “What we are experiencing in Paimpont, tomorrow, we will all be affected in Ille-et-Vilaine”. The farmer then addresses the director of the DDTM: “Yes, I'm willing, you work on the file, but the wild boar doesn't wait, he comes to the plots every night“. In the afternoon, the farmers went to the headquarters of the Departmental Federation of Hunters in Saint-Symphorien, near Hédé.
Loïck Guellec
