Several wild boars descended on the popular beaches of Portinho da Arrábida and Galapinhos in Setúbal last Friday (August 18) to take a dip in the sea as crowds of surprised beachgoers watched and took pictures just metres away.
Among them was former Portuguese footballer Jorge Cadete, who shared photos of the boars on his Facebook page which quickly went viral.
He described the event as “perfect nature” at “the best beach in the world”, but not everyone had the same opinion about the incident.
Pedro Vieira from the local Clube da Arrábida said that “people’s safety is at risk” as many have reported wild boars rummaging through their rubbish in search of food this summer.
“This is a problem that is out of control,” he told Correio da Manhã tabloid, explaining that wild boars are known to explore beaches during periods of drought to find food and water.
He believes the Ministry of Environment should grant hunting licences to bring the wild board population under control, and says the meat could be sold locally with proceeds going towards improvements to the Arrábida Natural Park.
Meanwhile, in the Algarve in July, a wild boar was spotted swimming off a Loulé beach. The 50kg ‘youngster’ was rescued by lifeguards with the help of a jetski.
Despite having to be ‘restrained’ and muzzled, the boar appeared to be in a perfect state of health and was brought safely back to shore at Garrão beach, to await Maritime Police who “took him in safety to his natural habitat”.
