The National Parks Board (NParks) have ordered the culling of wild boars Lower Pierce and Upper Thomson despite a petition by residents of both areas.
150 signatures have been submitted to MP Mr Inderjit Singh to petition for an alternative solution to culling, suggesting alternatives such as migration, sterilisation via surgery and use of contraceptives.
However according to a report by The Straits Times, NParks are still going through with the culling.
“Having taken into consideration the views of experts, we conclude that it is, however, necessary (to cull the wild boars),” said an NParks spokesperson.
Nparks’ director for conservation, Mr Wong Tuan Wah, explained that surgical sterilisation would be too intrusive and traumatic for the animals as it requires trapping and anesthetising.
As for chemical contraceptives, Mr Wong added that the method would require follow-up injections which would be impractical for free-to-roam wild boars.
Furthermore, president of the Nature Society, Dr Shawn Lum, pointed out that migrating the wild boars to another location will only transfer the problem to that area.
The society will be looking at other ways to solve the problem - educate the public about the wild boars while considering methods to eradicate the food source of the wild boar in the Lower Pierce region.
The wild boar issue surfaced last month when some citizens living in the area spotted them.
Since then, the animals, believed to be travelling in two herds of around 100, was reported by Asiaone.com to have attacked a five-year-old boy, killed a dog and destroyed plant life at Lower Pierce reservoir.
It is not known when the culling will begin but Mr Wong affirmed that the board does not want to wait for a serious accident to happen before taking action.
