Wild boar carry several diseases affecting both themselves and domestic livestock. Management approaches have welfare implications for wild populations and farm animal biosecurity.
Wild boar disease management involves complex interactions between wild animal welfare, domestic animal welfare, and public health. African Swine Fever causes horrific suffering in infected pigs — hemorrhagic fever causing prolonged death — making disease prevention a significant welfare imperative for domestic populations. Wild boar infected with ASF similarly experience significant suffering from a hemorrhagic disease process. Management responses that involve large-scale wild boar culling raise welfare concerns about methods (hunting wounding rates, trapping) and about disrupting social structures in ways that may actually increase disease transmission. Research increasingly suggests that intensive culling may increase ASF spread by dispersing infected individuals. Welfare-aligned disease management combines targeted culling in outbreak zones with biosecurity measures that prevent wild-domestic pig contact.