This is the moment a brave dog tried to scare away a wild boar to protect its owner from a dangerous wild boar that chased them across a field.
The woman filmed the video of the wild boar at Villa Glori, in the Parioli quarter of the Italian capital.
Boar attacks have become more common in central Italy as the wild pig population swells.
The owner can be heard shouting the name of her dog, Vulcano, followed by cries of ‘watch out’ in Italian and ‘go, go, shoo’ as the wild animal charges.
She hides behind a tree trunk in the green space before running from the beast.
The woman filmed the boar chasing her pet dog, which barked to scare away the animal, at Villa Glori, in the Parioli quarter of the Italian capital Rome
The video emerged after Italy’s capital banned picnics in a bid to contain the wild boar population after health authorities detected African swine fever in one of the dead animals.
Provinces in northern Rome have been beset by wild boar attacks in recent weeks, with residents criticising authorities for failing to take measures to control the boar population.
The country has set up anti-board ‘red zones’ in the north of the capital, with the animals pictured rummaging through bins and walking down the road in search of food.
Residents of Balduina and six other districts imposed an 8.30pm curfew after one woman was pushed to the ground during an attack on May 1, 2022.
Authorities in Rome has also banned anyone from feeding or getting close to the animals, over fears the disease could spread.
Anyone walking over farmland or nature reserves has received notice to disinfect their shoes.
Wild boars roam a street foraging for food in Rome, Italy September 23, 2021. Italy’s capital has banned picnics in a bid to contain the wild boar population after health authorities detected African swine fever in a dead boar
Provinces in northern Rome have criticised authorities for failing to take measures to control the boar population
The news marks the first time central Italy has reported a case of African swine fever, a disease which cannot spread to humans but is often fatal to the pig population.
Health professionals had already identified the disease in a wild boar in the northern Piedmont region in January, prompting the government to appoint a special commissioner to impose measures to eradicate the illness.
Around Between 113 carcasses have been found of infected wild boar in north between January and May 2022, according to Pig Progress.
Health ministry undersecretary Andrea Costa said the government was discussing a ‘slaughtering plan’ to reduce the wild boar population, reported the Guardian.
‘I respect the sensitivities of animal rights activists and environmentalists, but we are facing an emergency and it must be addressed with emergency measures,’ he told the state broadcaster, Rai.
Manager of the Agriculture Department of the Brothers of Italy, Luca De Carlo, called upon Prime Minister Mario Draghi to ‘start the killing of wild boars’ as it was ‘the only way to contain the spread of the disease’.
Italy’s pork industry props up around €1.5billion worth of trade annually, with African swine fever threatening the business of Italian farmers should it spread further.
Boars roam a street foraging for food next to garbage bins in Rome. The wild boar population has been increasing in recent years
The news marks the first time central Italy has reported a case of African swine fever. The disease cannot spread to humans but is often fatal to the pig population
‘The first case found in Rome suggests that the problem is no longer limited to Liguria and Piedmont and requires immediate measures for the containment and safety of breeding pigs,’ said Andrea Michele Tiso, national president of Confeuro, the Confederation of European and World Farmers.
‘The Italian butchery boasts a turnover of around 20 billion a year. A heritage that employs one hundred thousand people and must be protected by taking all necessary measures without further hesitation.’
China suspended pork imports from Italy in January after ASF was detected in a wild boar in the Piedmont region.
About 23,000 wild boar live in and around Rome, according to estimates from Coldiretti, the farmers’ association.