Boar evades Oceanside RCMP for more than an hour

CHEK

Half a dozen people are unable to corral the boar

A Qualicum Beach man is recounting the chase this morning unique to any he’s ever seen.

“At least a half a dozen trying to get him,” recalls Dave Hay who saw much of the chase happening just outside his home. “They had big nets and he wasn’t going to go for it. He gave them a good run for their money let me tell you.”

This not so little piggy should have stayed home. He somehow made his break and was spotted running on Village Way before 7:30 Sunday morning.

Eventually the RCMP, Conservation, and Town staff are among those trying to corral the 54 kilogram (120 pounds) boar.

A task that might seem easier than it proved to be.

“He could move quick and he could stop on a dime and go the other way,” says Hay. “If it was deer it would be more common here, not a big pig like that.”
They also tried using feed but every time they got close to capturing the hog it managed to escape.

“We actually got it in the net. The head was in the net,” says Qualicum Beach summer student Masato Wilson who helped try and capture the hog.  “But apparently what you’re supposed to do is get its back legs and hold it up and then it can’t do anything. The lady got it in the net but no one was around and it got out right away.”

“They’re extremely fast and extremely strong,” says Liam Hansson who was also helping. “People think it’s just a pig. We can easily just tackle it and bring it into a car but they’re going to do what they want to do.”

After more than an hour the boar’s owner gave the Mounties the okay to shoot it. RCMP say they had to be extremely careful because it was a residential area.

“It’s a sad ending in a way,” says Hay. “But what do you do?”
An unusual call for the Mounties and a morning where a boar showed just how cagey, quick and powerful of an animal it can be.

Kendall HansonKendall Hanson

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