Wild boar captured, put down after it injures two in Punggol
SINGAPORE — A wild boar has been captured and put down after it injured a Punggol resident and an NParks officer on Friday afternoon (26 February), in the third such incident in Punggol in a week.
In a Facebook post, Minister of State for National Development Tan Kiat How said National Parks (NParks) officers trapped a wild boar in the Punggol area, close to where two people were injured last Saturday. In a separate post, Punggol West Member of Parliament Sun Xueling said the pig was seen in the Punggol Seas and Ecopolitan area.
The Straits Times reported that separate wild boar attacks took place on Saturday at 308B and 310A Punggol Walk. Both individuals were taken to Sengkang General Hospital.
According to Tan, a member of the public spotted the hog hiding in the bushes. NParks personnel and a police officer secured the area and kept an eye on it.
The officers then gave chase when the wild boar charged out of the vegetation and attacked a woman. Two NParks officers and a resident managed to free her from the pig, which was darted. In the process, one of the officers was himself bitten by the wild boar.
"The wild boar had to be humanely euthanised because of its aggressive behaviour. The lady and the NParks officer suffered minor cuts and are being attended to," said Tan.
The MOS noted that NParks has erected hoarding around the remaining forest patches to minimise the chances of wild boars roaming into the community. It also deployed CCTVs, camera traps and traps around the estate.
"NParks colleagues shared with me that the feeding of wildlife whether intentionally or through irresponsible discarding of food is a key reason for such wildlife-human incidents," said Tan.
Since the Wildlife Act came into force in June 2020, NParks has prosecuted about 20 wild boar feeders, he added.
In response to Yahoo News Singapore's queries, NParks confirmed the facts of the MOS's post and added that it will continue surveillance of the area to ensure public safety.
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