Tractor driver kills eight wild boar

A tractor driver is alleged to have deliberately run over several wild boar on a maize field near Steegen; police in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district are now investigating the 22-year-old.

According to a police spokesperson on Tuesday, a hobby hunter filed a criminal complaint against the man on Monday. The 22-year-old is alleged — according to the hunter — to have apparently driven deliberately after the wild boar and run over several of the animals. The Hagenow police had not yet been able to verify the details.

The man was working on the field for an agricultural contracting company during the maize harvest. According to the hunter, eight young wild boar died as a result. The hunter disposed of the carcasses.

According to a police spokesperson on Wednesday, the 22-year-old from North Friesland (Schleswig-Holstein) admitted during an initial interview that he had run over the animals while working.

Police have launched an investigation into violations of the Animal Welfare Act and suspected poaching. The investigation is still in its early stages. Further witnesses are now to be questioned and the accused tractor driver is to be heard.

The maize harvest is currently under way in the north-east, with forage harvesters chopping the plants and tractors collecting the cut material on trailers and hauling it away. Many wild animals have made their home in the tall, expansive maize fields, particularly wild boar. Before the harvest, clearance lanes are generally also cut to make it easier to hunt wild boar or to allow wildlife to flee from the forage harvester in time. The previous year, a wolf had also been killed during the maize harvest in the north-east.