The mystery of the headless hog outside Townsville CBD

A huge, headless hog has appeared beside a busy Townsville road, but how he got there and why he’s missing a head was something of a mystery. WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES

The beheaded dead boar was first spotted on Monday morning, July 21.

A huge, headless hog has appeared beside a busy Townsville road, but how he got there and why he’s missing a head was something of a mystery.

The boar was first spotted by a Townsville Bulletin reporter at 8am on Monday morning, resting on its stomach and ‘facing’ traffic beside the Port Rd just 4kms outside the CBD.

After inspecting the scene carefully, the reporter noted the body did not smell at all, and there was no sign of blood anywhere.

Yet, somehow, it was missing a head.

At 3pm the reporter returned and found the pig’s body had not moved, there still wasn’t any bad smell, but the body had rolled slightly and there were two deep gashes into its spare ribs area producing a small amount of blood.

Deep gashes in the pig’s side.

A local butcher and pig hunter, who didn’t wish to be named, was shown the pictures and said he knew exactly what had happened.

“Pig hunters must’ve got it either (late at night) or early that morning and they’ve dumped it – I don’t know why you would leave it there beside the road for people to see,” he said.

“It’s obvious they caught it and killed it somewhere else, and those two stab wounds behind the front leg would’ve been how they killed it. You kill boars by stabbing them there because it goes straight into their heart.”

The position the pig was in when it was first spotted at 8am, Monday morning, July 21.

The pig hunter said he was quite disgusted to see the body dumped so carelessly.

“There are two types of pig hunters, there are blokes that do it professionally and respectfully, and there are hunters like this. We don’t need guys like this, it gives us all a bad name.”

The pig hunter said with a sharp knife a pig’s head can be removed “in a matter of seconds” in three cuts, so it could’ve easily been beheaded in the field.

By 3pm the body had rolled on its side.

“I know that area and there are feral pigs all the way from the port, behind JBS meatworks, the dump, and they go all the way to Cungulla and Ayr,” he said.

“There is no stopping them. People say the council needs to get in there and cull them but that land is full of mangroves, full of crocs, and it would take 20 years for the council to get them all.”

This ‘mangrove pig highway’ also gives the feral animal direct access to Bowling Green Bay National Park.

The beheaded dead boar was located on the Port Rd, and showed no signs of being hit by a vehicle. The location is surrounded by unmaintained private land, mangroves, and salt pans.

Dead animals by the roadside are collected by Townsville City Council workers to keep road users safe and reduce the risk of scavenging animals getting close to traffic.

“This particular animal has not been reported to council, however a crew will remove it. Pig hunters must not illegally dump dead animals. Council investigates and issues fines for illegal dumping,” a council spokeswoman said.

“Deceased wildlife is taken to landfill sites once collected, while pets are investigated and owners contacted where possible.”

The brazen dumping of the headless hog comes as pigs are being spotted closer and closer to homes – including inside people’s gardens in Saunders Beach, and continue to grow their populations on large blocks of unmaintained private land.

Originally published as The mystery of the headless hog outside Townsville CBD