Reloader708
Well-Known Member
Am I guessing most don't want boar repopulating?
Boar in Scotland - article in the Sunday Post
- Thread starter Feugh
- Start date
simgre
Well-Known Member
Estate owners and politicians will frankly ignore the solution. "Day tags" sold at manageable or desired levels and let a few blokes get on the land with the appropriate certification and equipment.
Holyrood elite couldn't have it because it will upset the grass weavers they've got into bed with and estate management would be aghast at three blokes from Barnsley with big rifles wandering through the woods having paid 80 quid to thin out the "pests"...
There's a need for a little pragmatism...
Holyrood elite couldn't have it because it will upset the grass weavers they've got into bed with and estate management would be aghast at three blokes from Barnsley with big rifles wandering through the woods having paid 80 quid to thin out the "pests"...
There's a need for a little pragmatism...
Foxyboy43
Well-Known Member
“One male boar he shot was 30 stone, and almost 8ft from rump to snout.“.
Hmmm. You don’t think a bit of journalistic licence from an author clearly named Dougal (as in Father Ted - near/far) creeping in early in the article, perhaps?
But for some strange reason part of me hopes they are right……. “Well you see FEO, the reason I need a 50 cal is these damned great scottish boar……oh and AOLQ perhaps”.
Fingers crossed.
Hmmm. You don’t think a bit of journalistic licence from an author clearly named Dougal (as in Father Ted - near/far) creeping in early in the article, perhaps?
But for some strange reason part of me hopes they are right……. “Well you see FEO, the reason I need a 50 cal is these damned great scottish boar……oh and AOLQ perhaps”.
Fingers crossed.
Bavarianbrit
Well-Known Member
How dare you knock Barnsley? Coventry could be used instead so as to not offend anyone.
Bavarianbrit
Well-Known Member
190 kg? Na.“One male boar he shot was 30 stone, and almost 8ft from rump to snout.“.
Hmmm. You don’t think a bit of journalistic licence from an author clearly named Dougal (as in Father Ted - near/far) creeping in early in the article, perhaps?
But for some strange reason part of me hopes they are right……. “Well you see FEO, the reason I need a 50 cal is these damned great scottish boar……”.
Fingers crossed.
Woodsmoke
Well-Known Member
Oh, me too! I love the thought that one day I may be able to wander along Scottish stubble margins with a .500NE double
Dhindes
Well-Known Member
Sorry to say I am super happy to hear of wild boar populations growing. I love to hunt them and, perhaps, if they become a "problem" more people will be willing to have hunters come and hunt them.
We need Scottish forestry to act like the French one and organise driven hunts which the public can pay to join
We need Scottish forestry to act like the French one and organise driven hunts which the public can pay to join
Heym SR20
Well-Known Member
I suspect that one of the biggest challenges with boar, is that hunters will shoot the mature females - and that's when chaos reigns supreme. The old sows are the matriarchs and keep the youngsters in order. Shoot the old sows, the young then go on the rampage causing massive damage.
If you talk to those who have grown up and understand boar, you have to be selective when managing boar and working with them.
Personally I do think boar are wonderful and natural part of our fauna and it's great that they have returned. From an ecological point of view their rootling turns over the soil, eats many of grubs and other small pests and creates the perfect seedbed for new growth. But the do cause damage if not properly managed, but they quickly learn. It's why on the continent most fields have highseats set up on the edge and in the middle. During the growing season - ie the summer, hunters are out at night and forcing them back into the woods.
If you talk to those who have grown up and understand boar, you have to be selective when managing boar and working with them.
Personally I do think boar are wonderful and natural part of our fauna and it's great that they have returned. From an ecological point of view their rootling turns over the soil, eats many of grubs and other small pests and creates the perfect seedbed for new growth. But the do cause damage if not properly managed, but they quickly learn. It's why on the continent most fields have highseats set up on the edge and in the middle. During the growing season - ie the summer, hunters are out at night and forcing them back into the woods.
NickJ
Well-Known Member
I gather the rate of population growth varies significantly between populations depending on their 'purity.' Talking to FE Rangers they said the E. Sussex pigs are quite pure and litter sizes are between a half and two thirds of that in the Forest of Dean where, although they look pure they are from Tamworth cross farm escapees originally.
They added in East Sussex the population is a fraction of what it was - whereas in the FoD they are struggling to reduce it.
From the photos I saw of some of the first pigs seen in the wild in the Great Glen that population certainly has plenty of domestic genetics in that core nucleus.
They added in East Sussex the population is a fraction of what it was - whereas in the FoD they are struggling to reduce it.
From the photos I saw of some of the first pigs seen in the wild in the Great Glen that population certainly has plenty of domestic genetics in that core nucleus.
'Wild Boar' is an incorrect term, as these went extinct on the British Isles centuries ago.
What we are seeing are either feral, formerly domestic pigs or even 'escapees', continetal boar released with the intention of establishing a wild population again.
IMHO the answer is going to be trapping/snaring (to which many on here will cry foul, not 'sporting' enough...) or if it really comes down to it, 1080...
Reloader708
Well-Known Member
Exactly, that's why I always refer to them simply as boar. What we do have though is as close as we'll come to our once wild population that went extinct....were made extinct.
Going forward I'm not particularly concerned with their population growth, its inevitable as we plant more trees, it'll just give me something else to shoot at if they become a problem.
Bavarianbrit
Well-Known Member
It will not be like deer shooting where they more or less turn up like a bus to graze.
There is a study being done as I write in the Bayerische Wald "located on the Czech border" that featured on Bavarian TV a week ago, real scientific stuff as they are trying to get a handle on how far they travel for food, ASP risk assessment was a biggie as well, so many trail cams were put out plus catching then tag and release some of them for gps tracking. The comment I found most interesting was the spokesman being very surprised that they wandered about over a range of 20kms from the tag fitting point just looking for food. Everyone doing a Jagdschein course gets that nugget of info.
So back to Scotland, you want to shoot a boar then factor in a week of B&B at post Covid price of min £100 per night as you will be out nut freezing for quite a while until one turns up, that B&B cost added to the "guides" fee makes bubba think twice methinks.
The pig farmers association should be funding this to eradicate them before it gets out of hand, then just pass it on in the higher pork price.
There is a study being done as I write in the Bayerische Wald "located on the Czech border" that featured on Bavarian TV a week ago, real scientific stuff as they are trying to get a handle on how far they travel for food, ASP risk assessment was a biggie as well, so many trail cams were put out plus catching then tag and release some of them for gps tracking. The comment I found most interesting was the spokesman being very surprised that they wandered about over a range of 20kms from the tag fitting point just looking for food. Everyone doing a Jagdschein course gets that nugget of info.
So back to Scotland, you want to shoot a boar then factor in a week of B&B at post Covid price of min £100 per night as you will be out nut freezing for quite a while until one turns up, that B&B cost added to the "guides" fee makes bubba think twice methinks.
The pig farmers association should be funding this to eradicate them before it gets out of hand, then just pass it on in the higher pork price.
simgre
Well-Known Member
Three blokes from Barnsley is a phrase used to encapsulate the “everyday man”, as the “Clapham Omnibus”…
Bavarianbrit
Well-Known Member
I know. Like the US Joe public.
timbrayford
Well-Known Member
Hardly a balanced view!
The boar war: Surge of wild pigs in Scotland provoking alarm and call for action
An unstoppable surge in the number of wild boars has been predicted as Scottish farmers voice deepening concerns at their environmental and economic impact.www.sundaypost.com
The boar war: Surge of wild pigs in Scotland provoking alarm and call for action
By Richard Baynes
January 30, 2022, 1:32 pm
© Paul Campbell
Steven MacKenzie shows the damage done to the soil by boar as they root for food
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An unstoppable surge in the number of wild boars has been predicted as Scottish farmers voice deepening concerns at their environmental and economic impact.
There are several large populations of the huge swine but experts say they are now present across Scotland and failure to curb numbers means they could grow dramatically.
One estimate suggests the numbers have risen tenfold in 15 years with between 3,000 and 5,000 boar currently wild in Scotland. Ministers are being urged to take action to prevent the numbers running out of control.
Steven MacKenzie, a stalker on the Aberchalder & Glengarry Estate in the Great Glen, shoots 40 wild boar per year and believes there could be 700 of the animals in the surrounding countryside. One male boar he shot was 30 stone, and almost 8ft from rump to snout.
MacKenzie has witnessed large boar killing sheep on the estate’s farmland. “We have had a number of incidences of not just lambs but full-grown sheep being knocked down by large boar,” he said.
“Once they’ve got them on their backs they’ll use their tusks to open their stomach up and get at the soft content. We have actually seen this happening. It’s horrific.”
Christopher Ellice, owner of the 32,000-acre estate, said: “One of these days a tourist will come across one that will consider itself trapped and then they could be extremely serious. We could have a death.”
An unpublished report from seven years ago but obtained by The Sunday Post told ministers there were three options: to do nothing; cull all boars; or control numbers. NatureScot’s investigation in 2015 warned taking no action carried “the risk of populations growing in parallel with environmental and economic impact,” and pointed to Texas to illustrate what could happen if nothing was done. The state now has around 2.5 million “feral hogs”, which the report’s authors say are beyond control. No policy to control the boar population in Scotland has been introduced.
© Shutterstock / Budimir JevticWild boar numbers have increased in Scotland.
Farmers say the animals kill lambs to eat, and plough up fields rooting for food. The wild animals could spread disease affecting valuable domestic pig herds. Boar on roads pose a risk to traffic, and there are fears hikers could be in danger if they confront them. Tusks can be up to five inches long.
Although boar can improve biodiversity in some woodlands, they can damage populations of ground-nesting birds and deplete food supplies for other wild animals. They eat woodland plants such as bluebells.
Native boar are extinct, and Scotland’s population is descended from escaped animals imported to farms and estates for hunting or meat. Some were crossed with domestic pigs to produce bigger litters – piglets are nicknamed humbugs because of their stripes – increasing their spread.
Two major boar populations, each estimated to be of several hundred, live around the Great Glen in the Highlands, and in Dumfries & Galloway but Andy Riches, a wildlife recorder for the Mammal Society conservation charity, says boar are now all over Scotland, including groups in Tayside and Speyside.
After examining records for the whole of Scotland, he believes numbers have increased in the past 15 years from around 400 to between 3,000 and 5,000, and they are still rising, despite shooting by stalkers and farmers.
Lea MacNally, a stalker and farmer from Glengarry who says he has had many lambs killed and eaten by wild boar, is angry at the Scottish Government’s inaction. “Nobody is giving us compensation. It’s a serious problem but they seem to have just ignored it,” he said.
“They’re never going to eradicate them now, it’s gone too far. They are in the village in Invergarry. One guy had his garden trashed, got it fixed, and six months later they came back and did it again.”
Mike Toms, a crofter and deer manager from Glen Moriston, has studied wild boar and has given talks to Police Scotland and the Ministry of Defence representatives about dealing with the animals. He has shot numerous boar, including those which invade his fields and ruin the grazing. One was a 22-stone male. Toms said the lack of action from the government was “at best” disappointing, adding: “A more serious view might say it is irresponsible and embarrassing.
“An impartial bystander might be forgiven for suspecting that the whole circumstances are a perfect conspiracy to reintroduce and spread boar in the UK without legislation or evaluation of the threats and likely impacts.”
Problems with boar are not confined to the Great Glen. Willie Graham runs Auchengray Farm, near New Abbey, south of Dumfries. He believes there are “thousands” of boar in a swathe of woodland, hills and rough grazing south and west of the town.
His fields and those of four other farmers are regularly torn up by them, costing time and money to relay. “If you just leave where they have dug, you get nothing but weeds,” he said. “They need to be controlled. They are getting worse every year.”
Robin Traquair, National Farmers Union Scotland vice-president and Midlothian pig farmer, said: “These animals will multiply rapidly and I would say the government needs to step up to the plate and be clear with the public what they’re going to do so we can plan ahead. We need to find out how many animals are there and work out if we want to eradicate or tolerate them.”
If foot and mouth disease or African swine fever, which has devastated pig farms in China and spread into western Europe, crop up here, wild boar could hasten their spread, said Traquair. They could also spread mange and parasites. He added: “In the north-east we have successful outdoor pig-farming enterprises, and wild boar would not work well together with that. Control is needed to avoid these farms going out of business.”
The conservation charity Trees For Life also called for a government strategy. It owns the Dundreggan Estate in Glen Moriston, an area affected by boar.
Charity chief executive Steve Micklewright said the boar can bring ecological benefits by rooting in woodland soil, opening it up to seedlings and helping biodiversity, but in farmland “they can have unacceptable negative impacts which may need managing”.
“We need a well-considered national management strategy that works for everyone by addressing both the benefits and challenges brought by wild boar, together with more research into their distribution, spread and impacts,” he said. “And the Scottish Government should recognise wild boar as a native species within their natural range.”
Civil servants are using the report to develop an overall strategy for feral pigs in Scotland, said the Scottish Government, adding: “While estimates suggest the number of boar wild in Scotland is currently low, and populations are predominantly feral pigs, we are aware that their numbers may be increasing.”
Best practice guidance on managing feral pig populations has been developed and it has been used at a local level. The Scottish Government added: “We encourage all pig keepers to ensure they have good biosecurity measures in place to prevent contact with feral pigs.
“Working with NatureScot and other stakeholders, we will continue to consider whether any further action is required.”
The whole hog: Boars have been spotted all over the country
Wild boar sightings in the last 20 years.
There are at least three confirmed major populations of boar in Scotland but a map of reported sightings suggests they may be living in the wild across the country.
A map of accepted sightings over the last 20 years, compiled by the National Biodiversity Network, shows boars from the Borders to the Highlands.
They were hunted to extinction in Britain around 300 years ago but were later imported for meat and some escaped from farms and private collections to establish populations in the wild.
Usually nocturnal, the boar eat plants and meat and have been blamed for killing lambs and even sheep but would rarely attack humans. Where they are crossed with domesticated animals they are referred to as “feral pigs”.
There are still some wild boar farms in operation. Some sporting estates offer wild boar stalking to guests, and many boar which invade farmland are shot by farmers and stalkers but numbers are thought to be still rising.
Wild boar were illegally released in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire in 1999. In one year, between 2013 and 2014, numbers increased from 535 to 819, despite 130 being shot. They damage verges, gardens, play areas, parks, golf courses and private gardens. They attack dogs, and riders have been thrown off horses scared by feral pigs.
Introduced wild boar, pig/boar hybrids and “feral hogs” are now common around the world. North America never had native boar but Texas now has around 2.5 million feral hogs, and reports from the state say they erode the soil and muddy streams, damaging aquatic life.
They also disrupt native vegetation and make it easier for invasive plants to take hold. The hogs eat livestock food, and occasionally young livestock, plus deer, quail and the eggs of endangered sea turtles. In urban areas they occupy parks and sports fields, invading gardens and attacking pets.
timbrayford
Well-Known Member
Grey Squirrels are native to North America, not Europe
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