摘要：

　　目前，意大利正深受野猪的困扰。繁殖过剩的野猪不仅引发大量的交通事故、毁坏农田，还开始在民宅附近出没，导致居民惊恐不安。

　　Italy is waking up to a plague of wild boar, with the once-rare creatures causing road accidents, destroying crops and even rooting around in built-up areas.

　　目前，意大利正深受野猪的困扰。繁殖过剩的野猪不仅引发大量的交通事故、毁坏农田，还开始在民宅附近出没，导致居民惊恐不安。

　　据英国《每日电讯报》11月29日报道，不久前的一天，一头野猪闯入意大利某地的公路上，导致一场车祸并使车上两名妇女死亡。野猪通常全身长满黑褐色粗毛，犬齿突出口外，性格凶猛，最重的可达176公斤左右。它们昼伏夜出，并能在厚厚的灌木丛中穿行。

　　近年来，意大利皮德蒙特高原的葡萄园和玉米地、威尼托区的谷地、罗马北部的榛树园、里维埃拉和托斯卡纳区的苗圃都是野猪常出没的地方。野猪所到之处，通常都是一片狼藉。

　　意大利国家农场主协会的科尔迪雷蒂表示，意大利的野猪繁殖已经失去控制，野猪去年给意大利造成的经济损失多达5000万英镑。他说：“野猪不仅毁坏农田，还在居民区周围的公路上出没，并造成多起交通事故。”

　　20世纪初，意大利的土生野猪曾濒临灭绝。为了猎户们的需要，意大利政府于上个世纪50年代从国外引进了许多稀有野生动物，野猪便是其中的一种。外来的野猪不仅在体型上要比意大利土生野猪高大，而且由于其天敌狼和山猫数量的减少，繁殖得相当迅速。

　　为了控制野猪数量，意大利已加大了对野猪的捕杀，但由于猎户的逐年减少，野猪的数量仍在不断地增加。同时，若要射中一头野猪，通常需要25名猎人的密切配合才能完成。为了对付日益猖狂的野猪，除了常用埋设陷阱的方法，许多人还开始从小说中寻找办法。意大利皮德蒙特高原的一位制酒商就模仿小说中的情节，夜晚在他的葡萄园里播放山石爆破的声音来阻止野猪的靠近。(蒋黎黎)

　　Italy is waking up to a plague of wild boar, with the once-rare creatures causing road accidents, destroying crops and even rooting around in built-up areas.

　　The death of two young women in a car accident caused by one of the charging beasts highlighted the problems created by the wild boar, which was close to extinction a century ago but is now seen as a threat to traffic and farming.

　　The Italian national farmers' association, Coldiretti, has described the wild boar population as spiralling out of hand, with the animals "spreading panic" and causing damage estimated at ?50 million last year.

　　Aided by their protective, hairy exterior, the powerfully built and sometimes aggressive animals, which can weigh as much as 28 stone, can penetrate even the thickest brush.

　　The worst-hit crops are grapes and maize in Piedmont; cereals in the Veneto, Friuli and Le Marche regions; hazelnut plantations near Viterbo, north of Rome; flower nurseries on the Riviera; and Christmas tree nurseries and other activities in Tuscany.

　　According to the farmers' association, "nothing seems to be spared" during their rampages, and there have also been "numerous cases of wild boar pushing into built-up areas, crossing roads and causing serious accidents".

　　Wild boar were reintroduced throughout Italy in the 1950s for the purposes of hunting, an activity which had brought indigenous varieties to the verge of extinction in the early 20th century.

　　The new species was much bigger than the original Mediterranean wild boar, however. In the absence of its natural predators, the wolf and the lynx, it has become seriously prolific.

　　Attempts by different regions to ease local hunting rules, mainly by extending the season for wild boar, have failed to check the animals' soaring population.

　　Meanwhile, as the numbers of wild boar continue to rise, Italy's registered hunters are fast declining. To shoot boar, groups of about 25 hunters must be organised.

　　In addition to conventional methods to keep the boar at bay, such as traps, fences and cages, farmers are now resorting to novel means.

　　A young winemaker near Alessandria, in Piedmont, had taken to blasting out rock music in his vineyards at night to protect his grapes.