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SINGAPORE – The wild boar believed to have been involved in several attacks in Punggol was captured on Friday (February 26) after a dramatic manhunt.
He was humanely executed due to his aggressive behavior.
Residents were relieved by its capture, following two wild boar attacks last Saturday (February 20) and another on Friday when the animal charged after being seen in hiding.
State Minister for National Development Tan Kiat How said the National Parks Board had caught a wild boar on Friday afternoon, near where the two incidents had occurred.
“A member of the public had seen the wild boar hiding in the bushes,” he said on Facebook.
NParks and a police officer secured the area and kept watch. Officers chased after the wild boar shot out of the vegetation and attacked a woman, he said.
Two NParks officers chasing the wild boar and a resident managed to free the woman from the animal.
The animal was thrown by the officers, but in the process, one of the officers was bitten. Both the woman and NParks staff suffered minor cuts.
To locate the animal, NParks had deployed CCTV, camera traps and traps around the property.
HDB and the Singapore Land Authority had also erected a hoarding around the remaining patches of forest to minimize the chances of wild boars entering the community, he noted.
The team continues its surveillance of the area to ensure public safety.
“Colleagues at NParks shared with me that feeding wildlife, either intentionally or through irresponsible disposal of food, is a key reason for such incidents between wildlife and humans,” added Tan.
“Such feeding habituates humans to wildlife and increases the propensity for aggressive behavior.”
Since the Wildlife Act went into effect in June 2020, NParks has prosecuted some 20 wild boar feeders who were caught doing so in Lorong Halus.
“I would like to thank the NParks team and their contractors who have been patrolling the area throughout the day looking for the wild boar since Saturday,” he said.
Punggol West SMC Member of Parliament Sun Xueling, who also posted the news on Facebook, told The Straits Times that she had asked NParks to continue intensified surveillance and patrols.
“I think the Punggol community will feel more secure knowing that NParks is still monitoring the situation,” he said.
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