One of France’s strongest cheeses is under siege by wild boars, according to the Alsatian farmers who produce it. Munster cheese producers complain that packs of the wild pigs are taking over their cows’ grazing lands.
The cheese, reputedly one of France’s smelliest, is produced under AOP rules that require that at least 70% of the animal’s feed must come from their home farm. With hogs eating the grass, and also tearing up the ground, that standard is becoming harder to meet, especially for smaller producers.
Electric fences have not succeeded in stopping the boars; the farmers’ co-op that produces the cheese is now asking local government to cull the boars or come up with another solution.
This is not France’s only issue of growing wildlife populations coming up against agriculture; in the Aveyron area, farmers have complained that wolves are attacking the sheep whose milk produces Roquefort cheese.
