Wild Hog Invasion of Berlin Spurs Controversy
It seems that the U.S. may not be the only country struggling to get a grip on it’s ever-expanding wild hog population. Wild boar drawn to the inner city of Berlin, Germany in search of food are damaging gardens and causing car accidents, prompting a controversial hunt focused on killing piglets.
Since 1989, the wild boar numbers have risen from 3,000 to an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 hogs in and around the city of Berlin. According to the Guardian, a trusted German news and media outlet, the oft-destructive swine are responsible for 15 percent of Berlin’s car accidents.
The city’s plan of attack is to hunt them. City officials have called for the shooting of only piglets. They believe that if they can reduce the number of wild piglets by 80 percent, they can reduce the population by 40 percent. This plan obviously does not resonate well with the antis, but it hasn’t been welcomed with open arms by the hunting side either.
Hunters seem to have issue with the city’s population reduction plan as well. Many hunters attest that killing piglets isn’t a true test of their skill. The even bigger issue appears to be that hunters can get more money for shooting larger adult hogs, thus shooting only piglets is viewed as a waste of time.
