Black Widow
08-24-2008, 01:47 PM
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2008/Aug/Week3/15082801.jpg
Residents of Berlin are becoming fed up with wild animals hogging their roads and ham-pering the growth of their gardens.
Some local authorities are considering hiring hunters to kill feral pigs that are running rampant in the city.
However, they are concerned about the image problems that might ensue if they try to exterminate the pest.
Townsfolk have had enough of the disruption to traffic and the damage caused to outdoor areas.
The animals have been plaguing inner-city neighbourhoods for some time, attracted by the German capital's green belt and plentiful food supply.
One eyewitness reported a herd of 26 animals foraging on the edge of a public park in Zehlendorf district.
The latest complaints follow reports of a wild boar attack on a Berlin pensioner in April.
Nikolaus Basedow, 69, was out walking his dog when he was savaged by a sow protecting her piglets.
Mr Basedow required treatment for an eight-inch rip in his calf.
Derk Ehlert, expert for wild animals at Berlin's Senate Department for Urban Development, told German magazine Der Spiegel that attacks on humans were extremely rare.
Mr Ehlert estimated that there were between 4000 and 6000 wild boars living in and around Berlin.
sky news
Residents of Berlin are becoming fed up with wild animals hogging their roads and ham-pering the growth of their gardens.
Some local authorities are considering hiring hunters to kill feral pigs that are running rampant in the city.
However, they are concerned about the image problems that might ensue if they try to exterminate the pest.
Townsfolk have had enough of the disruption to traffic and the damage caused to outdoor areas.
The animals have been plaguing inner-city neighbourhoods for some time, attracted by the German capital's green belt and plentiful food supply.
One eyewitness reported a herd of 26 animals foraging on the edge of a public park in Zehlendorf district.
The latest complaints follow reports of a wild boar attack on a Berlin pensioner in April.
Nikolaus Basedow, 69, was out walking his dog when he was savaged by a sow protecting her piglets.
Mr Basedow required treatment for an eight-inch rip in his calf.
Derk Ehlert, expert for wild animals at Berlin's Senate Department for Urban Development, told German magazine Der Spiegel that attacks on humans were extremely rare.
Mr Ehlert estimated that there were between 4000 and 6000 wild boars living in and around Berlin.
sky news