Hundreds of boars damaged by radiation from the Fukushima disaster have taken over at least two towns in Japan, causing panicked residents to flee the area.
Following the Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown six years ago, thousands of residents in towns and villages nearby were forced to leave their homes. Upon returning recently, however, they were greeted by angry mutant boars scavenging for food and rapidly reproducing in the area.
It is believed that the boars ate food and plants that were exposed to dangerous levels of radiation, causing them to mutate.
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Cnbc.com reports:
Reports state that teams of hunters have been dispatched to cull the boars from the towns of Namie and Tomioka.
At the end of March, Japan is set to lift evacuation orders for parts of Namie, located just 2.5 miles from the wrecked nuclear plant, as well as three other towns.
Meanwhile, residents who do not return to homes not sited within mandatory exclusion zones are being told they risk losing housing benefits.
A Greenpeace report has said that of the 160,000 who fled their homes, 80,000 have yet to return.
The report accused the government of trying to minimize the impact of the disaster and that evacuees are being returned to areas with radioactive contamination at higher levels than internationally recommended safe levels.
“Many may be forced to return to contaminated communities against their wishes because they cannot afford to stay where they are currently living.
“This is economic coercion, not a choice freely made,” the report reads.
The report has said that the Japanese government’s response to the nuclear disaster “resulted in multiple human rights violations, particularly for women and children.”
