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Growing numbers of wild boars, some of which are radioactive, are menacing major cities across the worldhttps://www.businessinsider.in/miscellaneous/growing-numbers-of-wild-boars-some-of-which-are-radioactive-are-menacing-major-cities-across-the-world/slidelist/70630950.cms2019-08-11T18:43:53+05:30

Growing numbers of wild boars, some of which are radioactive, are menacing major cities across the world

Aug 11, 2019, 18:43 IST

Wild boars, or the Eurasian wild pig, are on every continent except Antarctica. In Europe, there are now more than 10 million boars running wild. Their numbers have boomed since the 1980s due to three things: warmer climates, improved agriculture, and declining predators.

According to experts, if a boar population falls by 90%, it can still recover within three years.

Wild boar thrive on trash. High-calorie diets, like human rubbish, or corn and cereal crops, are causing them to have more piglets, and more often.

In Berlin, the city is paying hunters to kill any wild boar seen within the city limits. While they've eradicated thousands, around 3,000 are still living in parks and green areas.

In other parts of Germany, hunted boar have shown excessive levels of radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown in Ukraine. As recently as 2014, one in three had radiation levels higher than was fit for human consumption. They're thought to be particularly susceptible because they eat mushrooms and root through soil that has stored the radiation.

And in Japan's Fukushima prefecture, where no one has lived since 2011's nuclear meltdown, wild boars have flourished. Between 2010 and 2012, the number hunted rose from 3,000 to 13,000. The average weight of a male hog was 200 pounds, and since they couldn't be eaten, hunters faced the conundrum of dealing with millions of pounds of radioactive flesh.

In Barcelona, to stem boar numbers, wildlife management is ignoring males and targeting female boars and their young. They also go along with police at night, in case they're needed to put boars down. And it's working — clashes between boars and people in the city are falling.

In Poland, the number of wild boars are thought to be between 200,000 and 500,000. In 2014, the African Swine Fever was detected in more than 3,000 boars across Poland. There is no vaccine for the virus.

In 2018, it was widely thought that the government planned to slaughter 210,000 boars to stop the virus from spreading. From 2016 to 2018, it is estimated that almost 600,000 boars were already killed.

But 350,000 people signed a petition and 800 academics sent a letter, demanding the culling be stopped. In response, the environment minister denied any order was ever given.

In early 2010, a 42-mile fence was erected between Denmark and Germany to stop the deluge of wild boars crossing the border. Denmark has 6 million people and 12 million pigs, and it's a $4.6 billion industry that it doesn't want contaminated.

In the last year in China, the world's largest pork producer, more than one million pigs were culled because of the virus, and it's now in every province. Up to 200 million more could be slaughtered or die from the disease, by the end of the year.

In Hong Kong, boar sighting and nuisance reports rose from 294 to 738 between 2013 and 2017. They've been roaming in the financial district, the international airport, and a shopping mall.

Wild boars run up to 30 miles per hour and can leap over three-feet-high fences. One of the reasons they're thriving in Hong Kong is that people are feeding them.

Hong Kong's urban area has also expanded into the boar's habitat. And around 40% of the city's territory is either park or nature reserve, which is where the boars are thought to live.

In Pakistan, wild boars descend on Islamabad, the capital, every winter. It's perfect for boars since the city is surrounded by wooded ravines and was formerly forest. In a study of boar's stomachs found in the area, nearly 60% of the contents were garbage.

In 2012, a wild boar attacked a police officer, resulting in eight stitches. The station chief said it was "like a terrorist." Another managed to break into the tightly guarded president's palace. Here, people hunt a boar down in the streets.

In South Korea, wild boars have flourished due to the loss of predators like tigers, leopards, and wolves. Notably, in 2006, there was a 400-pound wild boar that plagued a small island town, killing 20 goats. An 80-year-old man was also killed by a wild boar that same year.

In the US, wild boars cause more than $1.5 billion damage every year, and between 1982 and 2012 they spread from 17 states to 36.

In 2017, Louisiana's 700,000 wild boars cost the state $76 million. A Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries employee called them a "mammalian cockroach." Boar populations are notoriously difficult to stop, and 70% of populations need to be killed each year just to stop them growing.

But in Louisiana, one business is trying to turn the problem into a gift. Springfield Slaughter House has been butchering boars and turning them into sausages, hams, and shoulders since 2015. Although, one slaughterhouse won't be enough to stem the tide alone.

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