MP holds dialogue on wild boars

Inderjit Singh hears Lower Peirce Reservoir residents' concerns about animals in their neighbourhood
Straits Times 24 Jun 12;

About 40 people living near the Lower Peirce Reservoir met their Member of Parliament Inderjit Singh yesterday to discuss how to curb the wild boar population in their neighbourhood.

And a majority at the closed-door session - about 95 per cent - voted in favour of culling the animals.

Mr Singh, an MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, said he arranged the dialogue after hearing from many residents who had spotted the boars in their neighbourhood. His constituents have also become more concerned after one of the animals attacked two people in Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park last Friday.

A five-year-old boy was flung into the air when the boar charged at him, and a Cisco officer was also struck down by the same animal.

The incident came about a week after the National Parks Board (NParks) announced that there was a need to manage the wild boar population here because of the rising numbers.

Mr Singh said numerous residents have told him of wild boar sightings in the past few months. The creatures used to restrict themselves to the forested areas near the reservoir.

'It could be that they have run out of food in their natural environment, and came out to forage.'

He said the NParks estimates that there are 100 wild boars in the area, a third of them roaming residential areas. The MP added that he had asked the authorities to find a humane way to control the animals' population.

'We just want to keep the numbers at a manageable level so that they won't create trouble for my residents,' he added.

A man, who wanted to be known only as Mr Teng and has been living near the Lower Peirce Reservoir for three years, said he has seen the wild boars fewer than 10 times.

'They're harmless. They're just out here looking for food. I think the incident at the park was just unusual. Most of the time they are the ones hit by speeding vehicles,' he said.

Cheryl Ong

MP Inderjit Singh hopes wild boar issue can be resolved quickly
Evelyn Lam Channel NewsAsia 23 Jun 12;

SINGAPORE: MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, Inderjit Singh, hopes authorities can look for a way to resolve the wild boar issue quickly.

He was speaking to the media after a closed door dialogue with some residents who live near the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, where two wild boars were spotted on Friday.

Several residents have seen the wild boars around Lower Peirce Reservoir.

On Friday, a wild boar reportedly charged at a security guard and a five-year-old boy at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park.

Some residents are now worried that the wild boars may pose a danger to their personal safety.

But others said it's not a big problem, as long as residents keep their distance from the animals.

Channel NewsAsia understands about 40 people attended the closed door dialogue.

95 per cent of them support the move to reduce the wild boar population.

Apart from residents, there were also representatives from various government agencies.

Mr Inderjit Singh said: "The wild boars have shown that they can attack, so we would have to resolve this quite urgently and that NParks (National Parks Board) gather as much research and information as possible to resolve this quickly.

"It is quite logical to see that the food in the forest must be running out, because the numbers are large so the wild boars are now exploring further away from the jungle area to look for food."

- CNA/ck