In light of the persistent problems associated with overabundant wild boar, we conducted an inquiry into the behaviour and opinions of those who, by exercising the right to hunt, are expected to play a key role in regulating wild boar populations in the Czech Republic-namely, hunters. The hunting population in the Czech Republic is declining and ageing, and the transfer of scientifically grounded knowledge into hunting practice is insufficient. Such knowledge often contradicts traditional procedures and is therefore not readily embraced by hunters. Following the German model (for international comparison), we developed an extensive questionnaire in which hunters responded to questions concerning the behaviour and life-history strategies of wild boar, as well as the effectiveness of hunting interventions in the Czech Republic. The questionnaire was distributed electronically to hunting associations. Of the 389 respondents, representing all regions of the Czech Republic, 70.2% believed that they harvested sufficient numbers of wild boar to control the population, whereas only 18.2% recognised that harvest levels were inadequate. The most optimistic group-unfortunately-were the game managers (75.7%), who are responsible for setting hunting strategies and should be aware of the unsatisfactory situation. Fewer than 5% of hunters reported harvesting more than 75% of the local wild boar population within their entire hunting association, i.e. achieving a harvest intensity conducive to population reduction. Research clearly demonstrates that effective population control requires the harvest of both piglets (up to four months of age) and adult females. Hunters, however, appear not to share this view: only 19.5% of respondents were willing to hunt both age classes. By contrast, nearly one third of respondents (31.7%) were unwilling to hunt either piglets or adult females. Willingness to hunt only one category was not statistically symmetrical (S(3) = 25.67, P < 0.0001, Bowker's test of symmetry). Among hunters willing to harvest only one age class, more were willing to shoot adult females (17.4%) than piglets (5.5%), likely due to the greater difficulty and lower yield associated with harvesting piglets. The remaining 25.9% of respondents stated that they did not know. The data indicate that, although hunters acknowledge the importance of reducing wild boar numbers, they are neither sufficiently willing nor able to change traditional hunting practices and increase harvest intensity (for example, none of the respondents mentioned the use of highly efficient corral traps as a potential solution). Effective regulation of wild boar abundance requires not only new management and hunting strategies based on contemporary knowledge, but also ensuring that these practices are adopted by a hunting community heavily shaped by tradition.