Wild boars that escaped from a captive holding facility have reportedly been spotted in the La Visitation-de-Yamaska and Sainte-Perpétue areas of Centre-du-Québec.
“A sow [femelle sanglier] and his piglets [ses petits]escaped from captivity, were observed in our sector,” warned the municipality of La Visitation-de-Yamaska on its social networks Monday, midday.
As of Tuesday evening, the wild boars had still not been found. “Our teams are on the ground trying to locate and capture them,” said Yannick Bilodeau, a biologist at the Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks.
Raised for its meat, wild boar is an invasive alien species that, when it escapes from captivity, can pose a threat to ecosystems and cause damage to crops.
If you come across a wild boar in the wild, it is not recommended to approach it, because its behavior is unpredictable, but it is also forbidden to shoot it. “Since it is a female with her young, she will try to protect them so she could charge and potentially cause injuries,” warns Yannick Bilodeau. The best thing to do is to move away from it slowly, take photos if you can and contact SOS Poaching – Wild Animal Emergency as quickly as possible at 1 800 463-2191.
The wild boars were spotted in the La-Visitation-de-Yamaska and Sainte-Perpétue areas, according to information from the ministry, but they can move about 8 kilometres per day according to Yannick Bilodeau; they could therefore possibly be in neighbouring municipalities.