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Urban Boar Hunting In Berlin

Not content to be known for terrifying and lovable bears, Germany is now in the midst of a boar-induced panic. The two-tusked pigs are running wild through Berlin, where they've lately gone from occasional oddity to backyard menace, with as many as 7,000 now roaming the city.

Berlin has appointed some Stadtjäger, or "urban hunters," to control the boar population, says The Wall Street Journal, but locals who've taken to the city's newest mascot don't appreciate them shooting down animals in the streets:

Part of Berlin's human population is siding with the boars against those who shoot them. Urban hunters have been beaten with sticks, called "murderers" and had their tires slashed. [One] had to call for police protection when a crowd of young partygoers, enraged after he shot a boar that had been wounded by a car, threatened to beat him up.

Some locals are even feeding the animals, thus luring even more into the city, where they're more difficult to hunt than they would be in the countryside around Berlin. Even with some success, says one urban hunter who figures at least 500 animals have been culled so far this year, the boars may never be eradicated:

There is no way that hunting can get rid of them all. Ultimately we must learn to share the city with the swine.

Related Stories:
· In Berlin's Boar War, Some Side with the Hogs [WSJ]
· When Animals Attack coverage [Jaunted]