‘Radioactive wild boars’ rampaging in Germany

BERLIN — Radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster is still poisoning Germany's boars nearly 25 years on, with authorities fighting to keep toxic meat off the market as the wild boar population rockets.

The boars feed off mushrooms, truffles and wild berries which still contain high levels of caesium-137, carried in the radioactive cloud that spread across Europe following the 1986 accident at the Ukrainian nuclear plant.

"In some regions, especially in the south, the radioactivity found in boars is 10 times higher than normal," Florian Emrich, spokesman for the Federal Agency for the Protection Against Radioactivity, said on Saturday.

A sharp increase in wild boar numbers has meant more boar meat -- prized as a delicacy in Germany on a par with venison -- is ending up on diners' plates, raising concerns for human health.

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[link to rawstory.com]