Arabic version: خنازير برية تُلحق أضراراً بحدائق بالمرستون

According to ABC News, feral pigs have been caught on home cameras destroying residential gardens in Palmerston, Darwin’s satellite city, with the local council encouraging residents to monitor the animals’ movements.

Sandra Penna, who has lived with her husband Enrico in Durack for nearly 30 years, said their garden beds had been “totally decimated” during the past month. She said plants, including rare specimens collected by her husband, had been destroyed.

After seeing reports of pig sightings in local Facebook groups, Ms Penna set up a camera at her home. She said footage confirmed the animals had returned to her yard. Residents had reported seeing a mother pig, a father pig and seven piglets.

Palmerston Mayor Athina Pascoe-Bell said the council was supporting coordination between relevant landholders and stakeholders. She said community safety was an important consideration in an urban setting, and monitoring would help identify movement patterns and places where trapping could be carried out safely and effectively.

National Feral Pig Management coordinator Dr Heather Channon said pigs entering urban areas was uncommon but not unprecedented. She said seasonal conditions and the end of the dry season could be making the animals more noticeable, while favourable conditions in recent years may have supported reproduction and increased numbers. Dr Channon said management should be proactive rather than begin only after pigs reach backyards.