Alligator Creek resident Bette Willis says more needs to be done to control feral pigs
A terrifying feral pig attack which left a woman without a fingertip has sparked an Alligator Creek resident to speak up, afraid someone else may get hurt without action.
Townsville
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A TERRIFYING feral pig attack which left a woman without a fingertip has sparked an Alligator Creek resident to speak up, afraid someone else may get hurt without action.
Bette Willis, who has lived in the area for 35 years, says the “rampant” feral pig problem has got out of control, and now caused serious injury to her friend.
“If there had been a child involved, the attack could quite well have been fatal,” Ms Willis said.
On April 14, her house guest Kay noticed that six feral pigs had gotten into Ms Willis’ fenced yard when a gate was left open.
Kay went outside to assess the damage when a boar charged her and attacked her legs and hands.
The animal latched onto her hands and didn’t let go until a neighbour who heard Kay’s screams came to help.
“I was taken to hospital not really knowing the extent,” Kay said.
The injuries were horrific.
She suffered a broken middle finger. The top of her index finger chewed off. Bite marks across her legs and arms. Deep cuts across six of her fingers. And 30 stitches altogether.
“My hands were so swollen they had to wait three days before they could do the stitches,” Kay said.
“It was pretty terrifying.”
Ms Willis said her neighbour was also confronted by a feral pig at her doorstep just a few days later.
“We are outraged that the feral pig problem has now reached the stage that we are being attacked on our own property,” Ms Willis said.
“These recent attacks and confrontations on our properties highlight the seriousness of the feral pig problem and the need to recognise that it is time that feral pig eradication be given the attention and funding the issue deserves.”
Over the years, Ms Willis has gone to great lengths to protect her property from the destructive pests, including installing a $10,000 fence around the perimeter of her large property to keep them at bay.
She says the animals are coming from the currently closed Alligator Creek visitor area on Bowling Green Bay National Park.
“There’s tonnes of them in there. Particularly since the park has been closed for 14 months.
“There has been a culling program, we think, but we don’t get a lot of information about how it’s going.”
In the last 12 months, Townsville City Council’s feral pig control program has seen 129 pigs caught and removed from the Alligator Creek area.
Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services (QPWS) says 220 feral pigs have been removed from the national park in the last two years.
Ms Willis said the programs need to be scaled up.
“The fix is a really adequate baiting and trapping program to reduce the pig population.”
Burdekin MP Dale Last said there needs to be an investigation into the culling program.
“If it’s found that current feral pig eradication efforts by QPWS is inadequate then the Minister needs to commit whatever funding is necessary to address the problem sooner rather than later,” Mr last said.
A spokesman from the Department of Environmental Science said it has invested $90,000 on feral animal control in the national park in the last two years, and claims monitoring results show no increase in pigs in the area.
The spokesman did no indicate whether more would be done to cut the numbers, but said it would work collaboratively “wherever possible” with land owners.
Originally published as Alligator Creek resident Bette Willis says more needs to be done to control feral pigs
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