Riau in all out boar war

Riau in all out boar war

JAKARTA (JP): Armed with sickles, sticks and rifles, dozens of
villagers, youths and sharp shooters have marched into the jungle
for a major war -- against wild boars.

Riau provincial government officials are serious about
exterminating the boars that local farmers have claim are the
number one pest in the area.

Officials have called on 870 members of the little-known
Association of Indonesian Boar Hunting Sports (POBBI), from
throughout Indonesia, to help eradicate the boars, Antara
reported yesterday.

Assisted by 1,150 dogs, the hunters plan to rid the forests of
the boars near areas earmarked as transmigration sites.

Anasri Lahmin, who was coordinating the hunt, said the war
front opened in Muara Takus village on Monday, where 150 boars
were killed in a single day.

The hunting will continue until the official opening of the
transmigration sites in December.

"It might sound like a competition, but we don't offer prizes
because our aim is only to help farmers get rid of the damned
boars," Anasri said.

Farmers have been so overrun by boars that Governor Soeripto
once invited entrepreneurs to build pork canning businesses in
the province.

But the idea provoked strong opposition from local students
who insisted Riau did not need capitalists to get rid of boars.

They proposed that the pests be hunted for sport, an idea the
governor was unable to resist. (pan)