The Wild Boar as an Ecosystem Service: Moving Steps Towards Biodiversity Engineering

The aim of the study is to address the problems related to the conflict between natural resources, such as wild boars, with agricultural and livestock activities producing ecosystem services or disservices. The authors propose a process inversion, even if considered unprofitable: capturing subadult wild boars (6-12 months of age) and then slaughtering them. Thirty female wild boars were divided into three groups (G1 = 6-8 months juveniles; G2 = 9-12 months subadults; G3 = >12 months adults) and then slaughtered in an authorized factory. Live and dressed weight were different (P≤0.01) among the groups. The weights of the sides and the cuts of meat, fat and pluck were not different between G2 and G3, while they differed from G1. Intestinal tract weight showed differences (P≤0.01) between G1 versus older age groups which, however, differed less markedly between them (P≤0.05). The ratios (warm yield, side/dead weight, cut of meat/side, and cut of fat/side) did not show differences between groups. The results obtained indicate that young animals' warm yields do not fall below 80%, and that young and subadult animals are able to guarantee the containment of wild populations but also a slaughtering controlled by official veterinarians as well as food safety and hygienic-sanitary control.