All wild boars that escaped from Yukon farm now dead, says government

The seven wild boars that escaped from a Yukon farm earlier this year are all dead now,according to the Yukongovernment.

In an email to CBCon Tuesday, government spokesperson Rod Jacob said the last of the animals havebeen "terminated"either by their owner or Yukon's Conservation Officer Services.

The animals, also known as Eurasian pigs, went AWOLmore than two months ago from a farm west of Whitehorse, in the Mendenhall area.

Weeks later,the Yukon government stepped up efforts to capture orkill the animals and threatened the farmer with penalties if the animals continued to run loose.

Some of the beasts were soon shot dead, but others had apparently gone to ground. Experts warned that the animals werenotoriously elusive, and that the escapees could cause serious environmental damage especially if they managed to reproduce.

The animalswere all female, and the Yukon government warned other farmers in the area to keep their domestic pigs secureto prevent any cross-breeding.

On Tuesday, the government said the case of the escaped wild boars "reinforces the need for secure fencing when raising livestock."

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