TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A fruit farmer called the agricultural department for help capturing a 100 kg boar that attacked him in Chiayi County.
Chiayi County Government Livestock Disease Prevention and Control Center Director Lin Yi-ru (林珮如) said it received a call from a farmer surnamed Chen (陳) on Saturday (April 6), saying a boar was charging at anyone who got too close to it.
Lin said the center deployed two staff with a tranquilizer gun and other tools to subdue the boar. Chen said he called for his dog before the group entered the orchard in search of the boar, per CNA.
After the dog entered the orchard, the boar ran into the farmer and knocked him to the ground. Staff from the livestock center used a tree branch to prevent the boar from continuing to attack the farmer.
Eventually, the boar fled. Orchard workers and the two livestock center staff planned how to corner the boar and shoot it with a tranquilizer gun. The boar reportedly would charge people who got too close, with some even climbing into trees to escape it.
After two hours and eight tranquilizer shots, the boar was subdued and taken away. Staff from the livestock center suspected the boar was not a wild animal, as the farm was situated too far away from the mountains, which is the natural habitat of wild boars.
The group suspected a local farmer raised the boar before it escaped. A search is underway to find its previous owner.
The public was reminded to keep a safe distance from wild animals. Farmers whose crops are repeatedly damaged by wild animals can apply to the government for an electrified fence enclosure.
