jabalis- Wild Boar invade Malaga City, Euro Weekly News.
Credit: Jose Maria de todo un poco, YouTube
The escalating wild boar crisis on the Costa del Sol has taken one of its first truly horrific turns after a pack of wild boars attacked and devoured a heavily pregnant mare on a rural estate in the Guadalobon area of Estepona.
The owner of the horse-breeding and training centre, Francisco Tineo, described the “cruel” death of the animal in harrowing detail: “They ate her alive. We’ve lost cats to them before, but never imagined they would go for the horses.”
Speaking to local media, a visibly shaken Tineo said the boars now roam right up to his doorstep. “We’re afraid to go out at night. If they’re bold enough to take down a mare, this is getting very serious.”
The attack is the latest in a string of increasingly aggressive incidents across the Costa del Sol in 2025, where an estimated 22,000 wild boars, many of them highly fertile hybrids of wild and domestic pigs, have lost their fear of humans and are venturing deep into urbanisations, beaches, shopping centres and onto main roads.
Hunters called in to cull wild boar overpopulation
There has been an appeal for urgent help from local hunters, but thick reed beds along the river provide the animals with almost impenetrable refuge. “They hide in the cañas and only come out into open ground when they choose,” he explained, adding that boars are now regularly sighted in nearby residential areas such as Selwo and Seghers. “Sooner or later there will be a traffic accident or someone will get attacked.”
Earlier in 2025, a dog was mauled on the edge of Malaga City after it barked at a pack of boars in a rural park and was later dragged away by its owner, and a young woman was hospitalised in central Marbella after she crashed into an adult boar on her motor scooter. East of Malaga City, near Rincón de la Victoria on the A7 motorway, a serious crash was caused by boars running across the motorway. There are fears for this winter as many restaurants close their doors for the cold weather, drastically reducing the amount of available food waste for the animals to feed on in urban areas.
Hefty fines for feeding wild boars
The brutal attack has also reignited calls for tougher enforcement against residents who continue to feed the animals, a practice that experts say is one of the main reasons wild boars have lost their fear of humans and now roam residential areas in broad daylight. Feeding wild boars is strictly prohibited across Malaga Province and carries an immediate fine of €250, as was issued for the first time in Mijas in January 2025, with repeat or serious offences potentially reaching up to €6,000 under national animal-protection laws. Local authorities and hunting associations insist that every piece of food deliberately left out, whether scraps for “cute” piglets or water bowls in gardens, directly encourages the population explosion and turns the jabalíes into bolder, more dangerous urban pests.
The incident comes just weeks after authorities approved unlimited hunting of female boars and hybrids across Malaga province for the 2025/2026 season and follows repeated calls from residents and businesses, from Fuengirola hotels to Mijas golf courses, for stronger measures against an overpopulation that shows no signs of slowing.