Costa News Spain contracts with a company to capture boars in Mijas

Mijas council has awarded a contract of €150,000 for the live capture of the wild boars and pigs that have been roaming the streets and beaches between Fuengirola and Las Lagunas de Mijas, with the aim of containing their growing population. 

The announcement came only a few weeks after the horrifying sight of a large group of wild animals freely entering the Fuengirola Miramar Shopping Centre opposite Sohail Castle.

Animals, which are becoming more and more confident, can be seen on the street every day. Fears have increased over their potential to spread disease, not just to humans, but also pets, children, or traffic.

This announcement follows images that circulated in social media showing a herd, including offspring and adults of wild boars walking through a part of Fuengirola’s shopping centre. The neighbours in the Miramar residential area also complained about finding the animals wandering the area several times.

The council received 3 bids in the tender and awarded the contract to Adda Ops. The company is an expert in this field, with extensive experience in controlling birds and animals that are a danger to aircraft at airports.

There has yet to be any mention of what the animals will become once they are captured.

Mijas has also launched an awareness campaign in parallel to this decision to discourage residents from feeding these animals. They warn that they could lose their instinct for foraging for their natural diet, and may encourage them to move permanently into urban zones. The police are currently giving out penalties to those found to be giving food or water to the boars with fines of between €250 and €750.