They open all the bags full of household waste left in the paper bins. A huge pile of garbage forms on the ground: an unpleasant surprise for tourists but also for the waste collection workers who arrive the next day. In the seaside village of San Giovanni di Sinis, the wild boar invasion continues unabated .
At night they clear out the garbage, but during the day they cause problems for walkers along the coast, digging up flowerbeds, and damaging house entrances . But they're also continuing to cause damage in the surrounding countryside: this year, countless tons of watermelons and melons have been thrown away by farmers.
The containment measures implemented by the Province of Oristano in collaboration with Forestas, the Forestry Corps, the Local Health Authority, and ISPRA—controlled culling—have now vanished. Cabras Mayor Andrea Abis is aware of the problem but is taking strong action against the town's residents. "They are the real problem, not the wild boars. If the residents of San Giovanni di Sinis continue to misuse the small recycling centers, this devastation will happen. Wild boars go where there is plenty of food; they are methodical , they move in groups where they know they can eat. Why don't people respect the rules? Why isn't waste sorted and then disposed of outside their homes? It's the residents who are creating this problem, and let no one say the municipality isn't taking action."
Abis then makes an announcement: "At this point , it's in the city's best interest to eliminate the recycling centers. The operators, after all, aren't allowed to touch the waste scattered everywhere . Thanks to controlled culling," he continues, "the number of animals had decreased significantly, but now we're back to square one. There are wild boars that come from far away. In the fall, we'll conduct a new monitoring exercise and then intervene again. This isn't possible right now due to the number of tourists and residents still on vacation."
Abis finally warns: "Perhaps some people don't know that the municipality has installed several camera traps in various areas of the Sinis, and that these bad habits will soon have a price to pay, even a heavy one. Once again, I ask all residents not to use the bins to dispose of household waste." Will this be the right time?