Global News - November 2007

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Chinese hunters 'shoot-to-kill' wild pigs

Thu 22 November 2007 14:00 UK — Asia,Ungulates

Officials in the Chinese city of Hangzou have launched a campaign to hunt down and kill wild pigs that have been frightening visitors to the city's West Lake, an area popular with tourists.

The cull began on Monday (November 19th), with hunters told to kill no more than 50 boars in the city's West Lake Scenery Area, while police were ordered to guard road junctions to prevent injuries from the pigs.

However, Chinese website Xinhua reported that there were no records of injuries or assaults on tourists by boars but claimed that their presence was not welcomed by locals and they had affected tourism in the area.

The pigs first appeared in residential districts in 2002, with locals putting their numbers in the West Lake area at around 1,000.

A local resident, Zhu, told the website: "I know wild pigs won't take the initiative to attack human beings, but it's dangerous if someone doesn't know that."

Alan Knight, Chief Executive of International Animal Rescue, said: "We condemn the killing of these wild pigs purely because they are not wanted in the area. If they aren't posing an immediate danger to people, an alternative humane solution should be sought, such as relocating the animals to a more suitable area. We as a race have no right simply to destroy wildlife that gets in our way or causes us inconvenience."

According to the Shanghai Daily a boar recently rushed into a security guard's dormitory at a local hospital and jumped onto his daughter's bed.

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