THOOTHUKUDI: After a feral pig injured three farmers in Ayankarisalkulam, the public beat the pig to death. Forest officials could not take action as feral pigs are not categorised as wild boars.
Sources said that farmer A Mohanraj (60) of Ayankarisalkulam village in Ettayapuram block was visiting his maize farm on Friday when he found a feral pig damaging crops.
As he chased it away, the pig turned aggressive and attacked him in response. Upon hearing screams, other farmers S Shanmugaraj (54) and S Ramasamy (62) came to his help and the trio jointly chased away the pig. However, the pig had bitten Ramasamy and Shanmugaraj, who fell down bleeding and sustained injuries. The villagers admitted the trio at the Arupukottai government hospital, where they were treated in the emergency ward and later discharged.
The irate public had beaten the pig to death after a short while. It may be noted that a few pigs injured a farmer a few weeks ago at Kambathupatti near Pudur.
The farmers claimed that the pigs have been damaging their crops such as maize, cumbu, chilly, coriander and other short-term crops for the last four years. The sudden surge in the population of feral pigs largely living in the thorny shrubs in small hills, Vaippar River banks and other unmanned areas, has become a gross concern. Though the pigs have been domesticated before, they show characteristics of a wild boar, said Varadharajan, a farmer.
The villagers said that even though they have complained about the feral pig menace for the last four years, no action was taken to control them. The inaction on the issue has endangered the lives of farmers, villagers alleged.
A forest officer said that many pig rearers had left their pigs untended during the COVID-19 pandemic. "This had led to a sudden surge in feral pig population. Over the years, they have become undomesticated," he said.
"The Wildlife Protection Act will not be applicable since it is not a wild boar. The forest department and the district administration will take necessary steps to control the pig menace," said Forest Range Officer of Vilathikulam Krishnamoorthy.