2023-11-09 05:30:00
In 77 communities in the three districts of Braunau, Ried and Vöcklabruck, no wild boar meat is currently brought onto the market. It has been clear for a few days that wild boar here are also contaminated with PFAS, an industrial chemical from Gendorf in the Altötting district. How does it go from here? “There has never been anything like this on this scale and there are no satisfactory answers yet,” says state hunter Herbert Sieghartsleitner. There is great uncertainty and the mood among hunters is depressed. The question also arises: Is our soil also polluted?
In the Altötting district, which is only separated by the Salzach from the Innviertel, 90 percent of all wild boars are unfit for consumption. Wild boar is hunted and disposed of there; since 2018, hunters have received a wild boar bonus to compensate for damage. The background is that there is extensive soil contamination with the toxic substance PFOA. Perfluorooctanoic acid is the main representative of the chemical group PFAS. It is called a “forever chemical” because the acid hardly breaks down in the environment. Wild boars have an operating radius of tens of kilometers, can swim well and can reach Innviertel soil unhindered. That’s why a study of wild boar meat was commissioned at the beginning of autumn. The result: In ten out of 14 wild boars tested, the limit value in muscle meat was exceeded. Wild boar from the Weilhartsforst and Kobernlassenwald regions were examined. “We were surprised. We hadn’t heard anything regarding the topic for a long time and suddenly the animals were contaminated with chemicals,” says Ried’s district hunter Rudolf Wagner. The animals are disposed of in Regau.
The hunting managers are unsettled, there are two reasons for this: “Firstly, because wild boars were brought into circulation and eaten until recently. However, since the contamination is a long-term matter, the question is whether we have consumed contaminated venison. And secondly, because there is no solution in sight for this entire issue,” says Sieghartsleitner. The hunting community is emphatically calling for appropriate investigations to create more safety and compensation, especially since the hunters are suffering financial damage through no fault of their own.
New rehearsals in Braunau
How does chemistry get into our wild boar? Theoretically it is possible that the burdened, sporty wild boar runs from Bavaria to the Kobernausser Forest. Another theory is that our soil is also contaminated because the wind can also spread the industrial chemical. The state confirmed in response to an OÖN request that the soil and water were not contaminated. The soil has been examined for several years and there has been “no positive indication for PFAS in the affected region.” Groundwater and drinking water have also been tested for PFAS since 2016. The measurement data in the districts of Braunau, Ried and Vöcklabruck have all been below the future drinking water limit; as reported, the EU limit will only be introduced in the next few years.
Wild boars are contaminated with the chemical because they dig in the ground and ingest a comparatively large amount of soil and possibly contaminated small creatures when searching for food. Other wild animals, such as deer or rabbits, are not affected.
The food inspectorate is currently taking samples to examine fish, free-range eggs and meat from free-range pigs in the Braunau district as part of a priority campaign. The results are not yet available.
Author
Marina Mayrböck
Innviertel editorial team
Marina Mayrböck
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#Chemicals #wild #boar
