Mazovia approves targeted wild boar cull in Warsaw after 159 attacks on humans

Assembly vote and regulatory framework

On 22 September 2026, the Mazovian Regional Assembly adopted a resolution authorizing the targeted reduction of wild boar numbers in Warsaw. The measure was added to the legislative agenda by Marshal Adam Struzik and approved with 37 votes in favor, four against, and two abstentions. The regulation takes effect two weeks after publication in the regional official journal and will remain active for two years. Under the new rules, municipal contractors may intervene only when wild boars meet specific behavioral criteria that pose direct threats to human health, life, or economic activity.

Safety records and urban population growth

The decision responds to a formal application submitted in January 2026 by Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski. Data collected by the municipal forestry service Lasy Miejskie Warszawa showed nearly 14,500 presence reports and 159 attacks on humans through the end of July 2026. Recent remote sensing estimates placed the total wild boar population inside Warsaw at approximately 3,500 animals. Tomasz Krasowski, director of the ecological policy and hunting department at the marshal's office, noted that natural reproduction rates for boars can reach 300 percent annually. Ludwik Rakowski, chairman of the Mazovian Regional Assembly, defended the legislative intervention.

Due to the rapidly growing urban wild boar population, this decision was necessary. The safety of residents is most important, and the current legal status limits the possibility of other actions reducing the wild boar population in urbanized areas.

Operational protocols and relocation ban

The resolution permits two execution methods: reduction shooting and trapping combined with euthanasia. Live relocation to natural habitats outside urban boundaries remains prohibited across Poland under African swine fever (ASF) containment rules. Regional authorities petitioned the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for a legal exemption to relocate trapped boars, but the ministry rejected the request. Consequently, animals removed from city zones must be culled rather than moved to provincial forests. Marta Milewska, spokeswoman for the Mazovian Marshal's Office, detailed the selection framework.

The project did not specify an upper limit for wild boars that may be covered by these actions. It is impossible to predict in advance how many animals will pose a threat during the period of the resolution, where such situations will occur, or what their circumstances will be. Instead of a numerical limit, criteria were established that must be met before an intervention can be undertaken.

Interventions require contractors to draft a formal protocol for every action. Authorized actions target boars that have permanently lost fear of humans through synanthropization, persistently enter dense residential developments, roam public parks and recreational spaces, or obstruct public roadways.

Council debates and ecological reactions

The measure generated debate over operational tactics among assembly members. Law and Justice (PiS) councillor Jakub Kowalski supported the resolution while calling for revisions to national hunting laws to permit bowhunting, noting that Madrid deploys 55 archers and Berlin permits firearms with silencers. Fast-track public consultations received no formal objection from the League for Nature Protection (Liga Ochrony Przyrody), which officials recorded as silent consent. Academic experts supported the necessity of population control despite the ethical debate. Paweł Nasiadka, an ecologist at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW), addressed the policy during a radio interview.

The councillors' decision causes enormous controversy, but it is a decision that is unfortunately needed.