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Terrence Marsh - Source: Close Up -
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Wild pigs are wreaking havoc in the Northland town of Ruakaka, getting into potentially deadly confrontations with locals.
One local, Terrence Marsh, said he was charged by one of the beasts which nearly cut an artery.
"It picked me up and threw me back. Then it spun around and came in for a second go," Marsh said.
His jeans were torn in the attack and he managed to scare the pig away with a kick.
"It was quite horrific to go through actually. When you're staring at the thing and it's heading towards you, you haven't got time to react.
"It was so jolly fast I just hope this practice doesn't go on."
The practice Marsh is referring to is 'seeding', where small pigs are brought to the area and left to grow up to be a little bit bigger, to then be hunted using dogs.
Locals claim it's happening in a DOC reserve that runs right alongside the town, where recreational hunting is prohibited.
And they're worried for the summer season ahead, when an estimated 2500 holidaymakers, including children, will be in town.
Mark Zeilstra has also felt the wrath of one of the pigs. He said he got a call from his neighbour, who had a wild pig in his sheep enclosure.
When he went to chase it away, the hunter soon became the hunted.
"I got a bit close to it and then it just went for me. I just took off and ran up through a bit of scrub, slipped over and it just shunted me up the backside," he told Close Up.
Simon Ellison runs Ruakaka Kayaking and was one of the first to witness the wild pigs, swimming across a river.
"Obviously it had been chased and it was on the run from the pig hunting dogs for sure," he said.
Monica Valdez from the Department of Conservation says she is aware of the problem.
"I don't want to see people doing that [seeding] on this reserve because it's a recreational area. If someone gets injured I will be pointing the finger at those people."
Marsh also has a message for the hunters.
"Put them [the pigs] somewhere where they can breed and be undisturbed and then you can go and do your business there with your pig dogs."
