ARTE, 2017, 30 min.
The island of Usedom is in a state of alarm: packs of wild pigs cross over from Poland by night and wreak havoc on the German side of the border; cornfields in particular are literally ploughed up. Afterwards, the pigs return to Świnoujście, in Poland, because the cunning beasts know full well that they will not be hunted there. Instead, they are considered a tourist attraction and are even fed in the town.
ARTE Re: follows the forest warden Felix Adolphi and the hunter Thilo Naumann during their gruelling battle against the destructive hogs. They follow tracks, set traps and keep coming up with new ideas – nevertheless, the wild boars on Usedom are often too clever for them.
The hunters’ frustration and the concerns of the farmers do not seem to bother their Polish neighbours. In fact, the wildlife cameraman Krzysztof Chomicz has almost befriended the wild pigs and is strictly opposed to hunting them. Even though wild pigs repeatedly become aggressive towards humans and have been proven to transmit diseases.
Director: Lutz G. Wetzel
Content editor: Thorge Thomsen (NDR/ARTE)
Producer: Nadja Frenz