Vishakhapatanam: A group of 70 pig catchers from Chennai has been entrusted with the task of catching stray pigs on a war footing in Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) limits. They would be released at places away from the city.
The team headed by a woman reached Vizag on Wednesday to stay here for a week to complete the drive, said Dr Kishore, chief veterinary officer, GVMC.
He said they began the drive 20 days ago with their local team in response to numerous complaints from residents against pig menace in the city.
"Unable to reach the target with the local pig catchers, we brought the expert team from Chennai. They can catch 100 pigs a day against 10 by our team. They caught 202 pigs in a single day on Wednesday, the highest in the drive, and 84 on Thursday,” he said.
“In total, we caught 942 pigs, and the drive would continue till our commissioner calls a halt to it," Dr Kishore said.
The corporation would provide accommodation and police security to the Chennai team as there was a threat from the owners of the pigs. Some of them even threatened to kill the Chennai pig catchers and the GVMC team. They even attempted an attack,” said a GVMC official.
GVMC chief medical officer Dr KSLG Sastry said, "We have taken police support. We are not against the rearing of pigs, but the animals should not roam around in public places. We have a right to shoot the pigs, but instead we took the help of the Chennai team, which catches and releases the animals away from the city limits."
The areas where the pig menace was reported to include New Gajuwaka, BC Road, Ajimabad, Navab Nagar, Kaniti Road, VUDA Colony and Old Gajuwaka.
