Rampaging wild boar in Punggol tasered, shot

A tusked wild boar was shot by police on a road in Punggol after it went on a rampage on Tuesday evening.

Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao yesterday reported that the wild boar, which measured 1.5m, suddenly appeared on the Punggol West flyover at about 7pm and was running on the road when it was knocked down by a taxi.

The police were alerted to the incident at about 7.10pm.

When police officers and staff from wildlife rescue group Acres arrived, the injured animal was lying on the roadside.

As the officers gathered around the wild boar, it got up suddenly and charged at the people in the area.

Police tasered it, but it continued charging.

An officer then drew his revolver and shot at its neck.

The police said: "As the wild boar was posing a danger to people within the vicinity, it had to be shot to stop it from injuring anyone."

The boar was subsequently euthanised by an Acres staff member and taken away by the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA).

No one was injured in the incident.

Mr Kalai Vanan Balakrishnan, 31, deputy chief executive of Acres, said: "The wild boar turned defensive as it was cornered and was stressed by the people and traffic around it."

He added: "Wild boars are shy animals that avoid human contact unless they feel threatened."

PUBLIC SAFETY

In a Facebook post on Tuesday night, AVA said it will monitor the situation in the area closely and work with Acres, Wildlife Reserves Singapore, NParks and the National University of Singapore, to manage the wild boars and ensure public safety.

AVA added that it will explore measures such as erecting barriers to prevent wildlife from encroaching onto roads, and putting up wildlife crossing signs at specific locations to warn motorists.

According to Mr Kalai, people should keep a safe distance from a wild boar if they encounter one. They should not run as it will provoke the animal.

He added: "If a similar incident occurs in the future, the public should give the boar as much space as possible instead of crowding around to take photos and videos."

Sightings of wild boar have increased in Punggol, AVA had said last year.

Last year, a wild boar reportedly chased and injured a boy near Edgefield Plains in Punggol.