ISLAMABAD: The wild boars’ population has witnessed a marked increase in the federal capital mainly due to overflowing trash trolleys and piles of garbage that serve as a source of an abundant feast for them.
The residents, while expressing concern, blamed the Metropolitan Corporation of Islamabad (MCI) for untimely cleansing of uncovered and overflowing dumpsters that eventually led to a higher number of pigs in the city.
“Years ago, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) had placed dumpsters of different sizes to collect household waste but unfortunately, now the trolleys are virtually feeding pigs,” Rub Nawaz, a resident of Sector G-6/2, said.
He said those animals were roaming freely in streets, especially during the night, and creating a nuisance for children, women and senior citizens in the localities.
Rub Nawaz said the departments concerned were not paying due attention to the issue that poses a threat to the residents.
He urged the MCI to remove the stray dogs from the locality or come up with an innovative solution to resolve the issue.
Another resident of Sector F-6, Abdul Rehman said a wild boar entered his home last week and created a dramatic situation, prompting him to open fire to protect his family from the dangerous animal.
“The pigs are a constant threat for motorists as they move at night and a number of accidents in the recent past have been reported on Islamabad Expressway, and Margalla Road and its adjacent sectors E and F,” Khalid Ali, a resident of Sector E-11, said.
“I had a narrow escape from an accident yesterday on Murree Road, near Bhara Kahu where a drove of pigs came right in front of my car which was crossing the road and I could not see them due to dysfunctional lights,” a commuter Sultan Khan said.
An official of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board Sikhawat said the pigs usually set up their colonies along the nullahs and remained there during day-light.
“The male wild boars escorting their females with piglets throng the urban areas at night to search for food and the odour of wasted food dumped in waste bins attracts them,” he remarked.
Shekhawat said the only solution to stop the wild boars’ movement to urban areas was to cut the supply of food. He also urged the citizens not to dump waste outside the allocated waste bins.
Islamabad Zoo Deputy Director D. Bilal said the competent authorities had banned hunting of wild animals since 2010 by declaring the Federal Capital as a wildlife sanctuary that led to an increase in their population.
“It is true that their population has increased in the recent past but we cannot kill them due to the ban,” he said.
Deputy Director Environment of the Capital Development Authority Aurangzeb Bajkani said their (boars) number had gone up in Islamabad like other parts of the country.
He said that the Sanitation Department used to poison them in the past to reduce their population but no such action had been taken for long. Their population could be controlled by through the use of modern methods, he added.
