40 years after Chernobyl, radioactive fallout is still hitting Europe’s wildlife, with thousands of contaminated wild boar destroyed each year after testing above legal limits
After the Chernobyl disaster, which occurred 40 years ago, wildlife is still suffering the consequences of human mistake. In parts of Europe, some animals still carry harmful levels of radiation contamination, forcing authorities to take drastic measures.
As a result, wild boar in some regions of Germany are still heavily contaminated with caesium-137, the primary long-term radioactive contaminant in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Moreover, some animals reportedly test above the legal limit (600 becquerels per kilo), meaning the meat is banned from sale and has to be destroyed.
The worst-hit boar are found in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Thuringia and Saxony. Consequently, figures from Germany’s Federal Office of Administration show hunters can claim compensation when a shot animal fails the radiation test and can’t go into the food chain.
They reportedly get €204.52 (£175) for an adult wild boar and €102.26 (£87) for a piglet. In 2025, 2,927 wild boar (including piglets) were destroyed in Germany because radiation levels were too high.
The year before, the total was 3,099, German news outlet Bild reported. In 2022 it shot up to 7,539, and in 2020 it was 7,235.
Last year’s state-by-state figures show Bavaria far ahead with 2,308 cases, followed by Baden-Württemberg (491), Saxony (109), Thuringia (18) and Rhineland-Palatinate (1). Bavaria has been the hotspot for years, as in 2022 alone it recorded 6,227 contaminated boar.
Other animals are rarely affected: only a handful of roe deer have tested over the limit in recent years. The 1986 Chernobyl disaster left a long shadow over parts of the UK after radioactive clouds drifted across the country in early May and were brought down in “radioactive rain”.
The immediate health risk to the general public was considered low, but the environmental and farming impact lasted for years. The worst contamination hit where it rained as the cloud passed overhead, particularly upland areas of North Wales, Cumbria in the North West of England, and parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The main concern was radioactive caesium-137 getting into grass, then into sheep. To protect the food chain, the government introduced major controls on sheep farming, banning the sale and movement of animals from affected areas.
At its height, restrictions covered sheep from nearly 9,800 farms, affecting millions of animals. Nevertheless, all government restrictions on sheep have since been lifted after monitoring showed radioactivity levels in meat had fallen to the point they were no longer a risk for consumers.
The final controls in the UK were removed in stages: Northern Ireland’s were lifted in 2000, Scotland’s in 2010, and England and Wales followed in 2012. However, a small measurable legacy remains in a few natural “hotspots”.
Traces of Chernobyl’s caesium-137 can still be detected in some upland peat soils and in deep-water sediments in places such as Loch Ness, not seen as dangerous, but as a lingering scientific record of what happened.
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