Wild Boar to be culled in the Forest of Dean

[forestwildlife]

Forest of Dean wild boar cull| News | This is Gloucestershire

Seems to be official. Such a shame considering the population size is only an estimate I cannot see how the forestry commision can realisticly cull any species without gaining accurate population figures, I know they do it with the deer but they are estimated to be in the hundreds whereas the boar are only thought to number around 90-150 animals.
I have also read that they want to keep the population to approx 100, now to me a population of 100 of breeding boar, capable of reproducing anytime of the year is not enough to control their numbers, so what is the point?
I hate to think of the boar being culled as their benefits to forest ecosystems are well documented and they also add character to the FOD.

[RKB]

They're actually considered a threat to some aspects of the woodland ecosystem, notably ground flora and ground-nesting birds.

The re - establishment of wild boar, Sus scrofa, in Britain
http://naturalengland.etraderstores....les/sin002.pdf

The potential impact on agriculture is also significant, and could be costly both in terms of agriculture and conservation (e.g. fencing around woods to keep them in).

Woodlands in Britain are much more fragmented than most other countries with boars, so the impact is likely to be much more concentrated than in mainland Europe and also pre-extinction Britain. As such, culling in order to maintain the population at a low level and limit their spread and impact seems sensible as an interim approach.

[forestwildlife]

Thanks for the link, will print that off and have a read.

I know their are threats to agriculture etc but in the FOD case the majority of problems seems to come from scare mongering amongst people, who have apparently had their dogs chased etc, any sensible owner would have their dog under control/ on a lead in boar areas or choose not to walk in areas where the boar are prolific. Ive heard people saying they've seen a boar the size of a picnic table all this adds to the fear of these animals which is unnecessary if they are just left to their own devices

Surely though any sensible farmer would have their land fenced in this area because of the deer and sheep which roam around. The boar are also imo not up to levels where they are a major threat to ground nesters. There have been no studies into how they effect the forest of dean ecosystem which I think is a must before they cull them.

[fairplay]

Some years ago the Suffolk Naturalists Society were invited to 'Jimmy's (Doherty) Farm' to record what they could find.
I went into the wooded area looking for fungi, but part of the woods were fenced off for the pigs to forage. Just one look at the woodland floor told me there would be little point in looking for fungi there as it was trampled to death.

It is unfair to compare this small wood to the Forest Of Dean, but I can well understand the need to keep the wild boar to manageable numbers.

Neil.

[RKB]

Deer and sheep wont root up grassland and pasture, or crops, like boars will. So it's a different kind of problem to grazers/browsers. Fencing is incredibly expensive.

If the Forest of Dean boars are not managed at a low level, then the 'problem' will soon spread to other areas nearby, so perhaps that is part of the thinking behind it. It pays to be a good neighbour, and not many landowners will appreciate wild swine on their land once the density increases, as it inevitably will if unchecked.