Pakistan capital inundated with wild boars

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Islamabad, the capital city of predominately Muslim Pakistan, where pork consumption is banned, is being invaded by wild pigs. Associated Press says packs of the "hairy beasts" that live in river beds, parks and scrubland go to the streets and rifle through overflowing rubbish bins left by restaurants and a largely wealthy resident population.

As many as 800,000 wild pigs are thought to live in the city, which was built on scrubland in 1951. A Pakistani policeman was injured in February when a boar rushed through police station gates that were opened to allow a car through.  

City authorities allow hunting only by shotgun, to avoid crossfire hurting passersby. But that is dangerous because short range is required and the boar may be only wounded.

An organizer who sets up hunts by foreigners says co-ordination with city officials and police is difficult and the hunters aren't allowed to cook the meat from animals they shoot. Poisoning or destroying boars' habitat is under consideration.

Wild boars cause grief across Pakistan because they destroy crops, just as they do in the southern United States where numbers are on the rise. BP