Australian farmers demand cull of colony of shipwrecked pigs

#Australian #farmers have called for the cull of a destructive colony of wild #pigs, whose ancestors are thought to have been stranded on Flinders Island in 1877 when the ship they were on was wrecked on its shores.

Over the course of 150 years the pigs have multiplied to a population of around 2000, wreaking havoc on Flinders’ #farmland and national parks, prompting calls for their eradication. The wild #pigs have destroyed coastal reserves and angered #farmers on the 40-mile-long island, north-east of Tasmania, south-east Australlia.

“Let’s get rid of these pigs,” a #farmer, James Luddington, told ABC News. “It is an island. They can’t swim away anywhere.”

#Farmers and wildlife officers on the island have shot more than 400 pigs in the last six months but have struggled to control the population.

The pigs are believed to have landed on the island after the shipwreck of a vessel named City of Foo Chow, which had sailed from London to Sydney and was heading for Calcutta when it landed on Flinders. Subsequent settlers on the island may also have introduced pigs.