Time’s up for Palm Cove pigs

DAYS are numbered for a family of creek-dwelling pigs sniffing around suburban Palm Cove and starting to display signs of aggression.

The feral colony of well-fed porkers have been calling Sweet Creek home and bolstering their numbers for months, but had until recently kept largely to themselves.

Veivers Rd resident Ian Stephens said the pigs had been wandering into his yard at night and damaging property.

“They came right up on the road, all over my front veranda and ripped up a lot of the garden,” Mr Stephens said.

“They’re out-of-control – they have no fear at all and they are becoming quite aggressive.”

Mr Stephens called the council after a line of banana palms in his yard were demolished in a nocturnal raid.

He believed the pigs were living down the creek and on a vacant neighbouring private property.

“They have really bred up and there are a lot of young ones down there as well,” he said.

Mr Stephens was concerned the larger pigs might attack children.

A Cairns Regional Council spokeswoman said all property owners had an obligation under law to minimise biosecurity risks on their land, including wild pigs.

“The council’s primary role is to assist landholders in this duty,” she said.

“Council has received three reports from residents regarding pigs in this particular area and this resulted in a trap being placed on private property at the end of last year. Two pigs have so far been caught and removed as a result of this trap.”

Division 9 Councillor Brett Olds said there were up to 30 pigs in the group and efforts to trap them should be ramped up.