Hunters shot and killed 21 wild hogs on Paljassaare peninsula in Tallinn on the first day of hunt on Tuesday, after cordoning off the peninsula that is a special conservation area for birds and serves as home to the city's wastewater treatment facility.
21 wild hogs shot on Tallinn peninsula on 1st day hunt
24th November 2015, 17:10
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«Of the hogs we got half are piglets, there are also a few sows and gilts, and one big boar,» Rein Soitja, chairman of the Harju county hunting association, told BNS.
He said about ten wild hogs remained in Paljassaare after Tuesday's hunt and that another about ten animals that left for the nearby residential area of Rocca al Mare some time ago still had to be hunted down.
Soitja specifically singled out the big boar shot on Tuesday. "As we say -- a trophy boar. She had a whole eight centimeters of fang out of the jawbone. A trophy winner for sure and very big in size," he said.
Before the emigration of a herd of about ten gilts for Rocca al Mare, Paljassaare had a wild hog population of about 30.
«Now we're going to conduct surveillance of the animals that went to Rocca al Mare and the ones left in Paljassaare. Rocca al Mare requires a bit more investigation, we don't know it they are on the moors there or right behind the territory of the [Open Air] museum. There's a residential area across the street, you have to be more careful there. Maybe we're going to have to conduct an ambush hunt,» he added.
Soitja once again emphasized that the area had been cordoned off since Monday evening to prevent humans from entering and that before the hunt the hunters drove through the area on vehicles once again to make sure there were no humans around.
Altogether 95 hunters, mainly members of the Harju hunting club, took part in Tuesday's hunt. The hunt passed without incidents save for a few minor injuries sustained by hunting dogs.
The hunt to exterminate the wild hog population in Paljassaare was commissioned by the city's authorities after frequent reports of damage caused by the animals to the city's green areas, residents' gardens and the facilities of businesses. The hogs also were accused of causing damage to the nests of ground-nesting birds in the Paljassaare special conservation area.