Cause “a great deal of damage and upset the population”
These are the visitors to Vilamoura golf courses that we don’t tend to read about.
They arrive at night; cause a great deal of damage, and then mosey off for the day, to rest.
Wild boar are making themselves felt.
Explain reports, “the species has been coming down from the hills and roaming the courses in search of food. Hunters have already been authorised to take action to prevent the wild boar from continuing to breed uncontrollably”.
This doesn’t mean that hunters are stalking the boar on the golf courses. Rather the idea is to ‘take action’ before they reach them.
As Público has stressed, Vilamoura’s courses are hosting the world class Portugal Masters until November 30. The nighttime visitors are a ‘headache’ but their forays do not tend to clash with those of the sportspeople wielding golf clubs.
That said, Rui Grave – director of the D. Pedro hotels’ courses, admits to having seen one animal on the Victoria course early morning (last week).
The damage these animals inflict tends to be in the form of ploughed-up ground as they rootle for worms.
And the fact that their visits appear to be becoming more frequent has been linked with the drought.
Media reports in the past explain that “these animals are reproducing at an accelerated rhythm throughout the country”. This is why hunters were given an extended period in which to stalk them this, in order “to restore the balance of ecosystems”. That period however is now over.
For the time being, golfers have been unaffected even if greenkeepers are running a little ragged.
