Wild boar update

[cloud 9]

It seems the wild boar I saw and photographed in the autumn we not so wild after all. It has transpired they had been released by "animal activists". I am sad to report the sow has since been shot due to the damage she was supposedly doing to gardens, and I am unsure of the fate of the youngsters

I am against all types of cruelty, but these ( and others) were to all intense and purpose semi domesticated and lived in a field with a shelter, and not subjected to any sort of intensive farming, OK they were being bred for meat, but think it was an irresponsible to release them to such an unpredictable fate. I am sure these people had good intentions but wish they would give a bit more thought to the suffering their actions cause to the animals concerened.

[Lincs Yellowbelly]

I'm not sure the people who do things like this have good intentions at all, and if they do they are very ill founded

[nightshade]

The RSPCA are warning walkers and dog owners to beware of wildboar
in the Roborough area of Dartmoor.
Three females (that are known) have had litters, they remain out of sight in
cover but any accidental disturbance could result in unwanted confrontation

[nightshade]

The Guardian says there are a lot more litters and they like dachshounds!
'When their tails go up, leg it' ... on the trail of the beasts of Dartmoor | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited

[Dennis1234567]

Anyone know the impact on dartmoors delicate ecosystem?

[aeshna5]

Though they may have been absent for c300 years, surely Wild Boar are rightly part of Dartmoor's ecosystem? I realise some farmers will not like them + just like deer, rabbits, etc will probably need control, they should be a part of our countryside.

[Blackdog]

There are also signs up in the Forest of Dean near Symonds Yat warning dog walkers of marauding wild boar. I have never seen them there, but I did see a whole family at very close quarters in Northern Germany a couple of years ago. The Boar charged out of the hedgrow and attacked my Landrover (I was on a road at the time). Perhaps he is a member of the green party...

[nightshade]

Domestic pigs can dig huge furrows in seconds on a farmers land
Wild Boar could cause a problem by digging up a lot of scarce plants
eating them in seconds then moving quickly on perhaps they need to
havetheir range limited on the moor