A resident of Saint-Herblain has filed a complaint against X for negligence, due to the proliferation of wild boars in a wood in the city center. Paradoxically, they are protected by the proximity of residential areas, which makes it difficult to organize hunting drives.
Le Figaro Nantes
In the beginning, there was only one snout. The of a boar who occasionally snooped and almost accidentally ventured into the center in Saint-Herblainin the western suburbs of Nantes. Then there were more of them – and the suspicious looks of local residents soon replaced the amazed exclamations of the first encounters. Now the law is getting involved too. In October, a Saint-Herblain resident lodged a complaint against X for negligent endangerment of others, in response to what he considered to be the municipality’s failure to react to the proliferation of a herd of wild boar in a wooded area in the center of the town.
The green strip in question, located at the corner of boulevards François Mitterrand and Charles de Gaulle, has long been a biodiversity reservoir in the heart of Saint-Herblain. However, over the past four years or so, the site has been intermittently occupied by a group of wild boar – at least three adults and four young. From wild animals devastating paddocks and gardens, and worrying local residents, some of whom have almost been injured by the panic-stricken animals. “A neighbor had to take refuge on the playground slide when she saw a wild boar charging at her. And my wife also found herself in the path of a beast that was running in a straight line; she took cover behind a tree at the last moment”.testifies Pierrick Guisnel, the Herblinois who initiated the proceedings against X and whose neighborhood has been visited twice in the last five days. “This has never happened before. It’s high time something was done before a real incident occurs.” he says, quite agitated by this suidian threat.
“The situation is blocked
A resident of the commune for 35 years, this landowner understands that the group of wild boars has developed a habit of moving back and forth between the green wasteland and the open countryside to the west of Saint-Herblain. The animals move around at night or early in the morning, darting between cars, flouting fences and laying siege to communal gardens and the local playground. “Wild boars have devastated this natural terrain, turning it into a real minefield”.describes Pierrick Guisnel, whose small vegetable garden – lovingly cultivated for many years – was similarly destroyed. “They bedded my peach tree and wiped out my leeks and strawberry plants, looking for roots. Ah, they had a ball!”. Hamid Hamma is equally bitter and powerless. “Now, along with other residents, we’re afraid to go out at the end of the day, especially for the children. And we’re doubly vigilant when we go out to the playground, in case the beasts are prowling around.”says this retired resident of one of the buildings lining the green corridor.
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Faced with these nuisances, residents have sought in vain to enlist the help of public authorities, starting with their town hall. In several letters dated from October 2023 to April 2024 that Le Figaro was able to consult, the town of Saint-Herblain acknowledges an increase in animal sightings in the commune, referring the matter to the prefecture, in this case the Direction départementale des territoires et de la mer (DDTM). While making it clear from the outset that an administrative may be difficult to organize “due to traffic routes and inhabited areas close to animal spotting sites”.. And by encouraging owners to fence off their plots – or to ask Nantes Métropole to seal off the green corridor, which belongs to it.
Given the configuration of the site, the DDTM has nevertheless authorized the use of wild boar cages from October 2023 – in agreement with the lieutenant de louveterie and the Loire-Atlantique hunters’ federation. The solution was to be deployed subject to validation by the town of Saint-Herblain, which, in spring 2024, was still studying the issue. Six months later, the project remains at a standstill.
“The situation is deadlocked: all our contacts are passing the buck”, sums up Pierrick Guisnel, still without any news from the town hall. In the meantime, the animals are getting comfortable – and gaining weight. The holes caused by the wild boars have increased in depth from around twenty to forty centimetres. “According to the hunters I spoke to, the animals could now weigh over 100 kilos…”, recalls the Herblinois, deeply distressed by the apparent inaction of the community. Contacted by Le FigaroSaint-Herblain town hall was unable to comment on the situation.