Radioactive boars prevent Japan from repopulating tsunami-hit areas

Packs of radioactive wild boars have reportedly gone on a rampage in Fukushima, Japan. File photo

Six years have passed since the dreaded Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan, yet its devastating effects continue to haunt the locals.

READ: Fukushima mistakes linger as Japan marks 5th anniversary

Despite the government’s efforts to set up exclusion zones (areas where risk of radiation poisoning is prevalent), the rest of the perimeter remains inhabitable due to the presence of some unwanted creatures.

According to a Reuters report, packs of radioactive wild boars have been terrorizing the area and have already caused $854,000 (over P42 million) worth of damage to agriculture in Fukushima.

“After people left, they began coming down from the mountains and now they are not going back,” Shoichiro Sakamoto, who leads a hunting group of 13, told the news outlet.

“They found a place that was comfortable. There was plenty of food and no one to come after them,” he added. Each boar weighs an average of 200 pounds, another report from The Washington Post said.

Government officials, meanwhile, are having trouble on where to place the captured or killed animals, since they were reportedly not fit for human consumption.

The boars possess high levels of radioactive element caesium-137, which is 300 times above the safe limit for consumption.

Instead, officials have resorted to digging up mass graves and have reportedly been running low on burial places.

The group is currently looking into incinerating the pig carcasses while filtering radioactive material, but lack the manpower to roll out the plan. Khristian Ibarrola/JB

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