Catch them all! A story of trapping wild boars as a sanitary culling during Belgium’s ASF (African swine fever) crisis (Provisional title) ( à paraître)

In September 2018, African Swine Fever (ASF) was detected in wild boars in Wallonia, Belgium, leading to concerns about the spread of the disease among both wild and domestic pigs. As a response, the government and scientific experts decided to cull the entire wild boar population in the contaminated area to create a “white zone” free of the disease and reduce the population in the surrounding regions. This crisis not only challenged the effectiveness of traditional hunting as a population control method but also highlighted the evolving human–wildlife dynamics that ensue during environmental crises. The chapter focuses on trapping as a key method used in this eradication effort, examining its development, refinement, and arising issues. It details how hunters, in collaboration with administrative agents, experienced and learned from these new practices in a joint trajectory along with the wild boars being trapped. Indeed, the text emphasizes trapping’s effectiveness in reducing wild boar populations while acknowledging the agency of the boars, which resist and influence the trapping process. This multi-species approach highlights the interaction between humans and animals, presenting boars as active participants rather than passive targets.