Boar in Scotland - article in the Sunday Post

[User00040]

Having lived in another part of the world where the only solution was to run them (true wild boar, with tusks and jaws to match!) with a team of dogs into a line of waiting guns, or snare, or poison them, they can descend like a plague of locusts in the dead of night and leave just as much if not more damage.

For the townies who have never had to worry about tending a crop, imagine if someone ram raided your house while you were asleep/away for the weekend, turned it upside-down and ate everything of value, including your livelihood, and buggered off with the intention of coming back once you had just about managed to recover from the incident.

This would quickly change your opinion from 'but they look nice and I want one to be mounted (on the wall above the fireplace, unless your are an Etonian... ) , for which I will gladly pay a pricely sum' to 'get em all flattened now, through any means possible!'

 

[foxdropper]

Yes but we don’t live in Dickensian times any more .The invention of fences and electric combination works just dandy on the hairy swine .

 

[Glencoe]

Saw my first wild boar in Scotland, legs in the air at the side of the road about 3 miles south of Glencoe. They are going to be a problem.

 

[vitalspark]

“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.

We used to breed Tamworths. Our last sow went off at a live weight of 285kg and our 5 year old boar at just over 250kg. That's 45st and 40st respectively so, although feral domestic pigs might have less access to food, 30st is not beyond the realms of possibility. Best get your variation in for the 50 cal
ATB V

 

[Foxyboy43]

We used to breed Tamworths. Our last sow went off at a live weight of 285kg and our 5 year old boar at just over 250kg. That's 45st and 40st respectively so, although feral domestic pigs might have less access to food, 30st is not beyond the realms of possibility. Best get your variation in for the 50 cal
ATB V

Just as soon as you let me have a perm letter!

 

[vitalspark]

Just as soon as you let me have a perm letter!

Can't help with the perm letter but could I tempt you with a Tamworth sausage? We got over 2500 from the last sow. When we collected them the butcher had both thumbs strapped up and told us never to come back lol.

 

[Foxyboy43]

I bet you say that to all the boys!
How could anyone link 2500 sausages - guy deserves a medal!

 

[Wildlife Biologist]

I bet you say that to all the boys!
How could anyone link 2500 sausages - guy deserves a medal!

You guys are getting me hungry.

 

[Foxyboy43]

You guys are getting me hungry.

Talk about coincidence - Mrs FB just made lunch and passed me a toasted sausage sandwich!

 

[slider]

Yes but we don’t live in Dickensian times any more .The invention of fences and electric combination works just dandy on the hairy swine .

Is that why they escape and spread

 

[vitalspark]

Is that why they escape and spread

An adult pig can quite easy lift a rylock fence straight out the ground unless barbed wire is run underneath the bottom plain wire. Electric rope fencing works very well if maintained. It doesn't take much imagination to figure out how we get escapees. Your average crofter is unlikely to do the former or necessarily spend the money to do the latter.
ATB V

 

[slider]

An adult pig can quite easy lift a rylock fence straight out the ground unless barbed wire is run underneath the bottom plain wire. Electric rope fencing works very well if maintained. It doesn't take much imagination to figure out how we get escapees. Your average crofter is unlikely to do the former or necessarily spend the money to do the latter.
ATB V

agreed

 

[foxdropper]

@slider Is that why they escape and spread


They were released from farms by antis Slider .

 

[slider]

@slider Is that why they escape and spread


They were released from farms by antis Slider .

Utter rubbish, many escaped because fencing wasnt up to the job or maintained. Now they are another pest in the contryside

 

[foxdropper]

@slider

Ok mate ,your the master on the subject lol.In Devon they were released by antis ,in FOD they were released by official channels .Scotland may be through shite fencing but down south it was antis .If a boar can get through deer fencing with internal electric stand offs then they deserve their place in the uk but they didn’t ,they were released .Read up on it then get back to me .

 

[Wildlife Biologist]

I agree somewhat with both sides of the argument. It is difficult if not impossible to determine if the origin was from an intentional release or escape. Often times I suspect it was some of both and possibly multiple instances of combinations of releases and escapes. I also have seen these discussions about the origins of an invasive species in the USA. Usually the origin can never be definitively determined. Often times the invasive species will cross breed with a native feral species. This is sometmes the case with hogs. The bottom line is when the damage is done and the species proliferates we have to deal with it. This is certainly a worldwide problem.

 

[Heym SR20]

I can’t help feeling that Wild Boar are a natural part of the UK landscape and they should be a welcome return.

Yes they need managing, and there are plenty of FAC holders who I am sure will assist with their management. During the crop growing season you have high seats out in the crops to keep them in the woods, and in the winter time you have a few large boar drives, where are local hunters meet, shoot boar and then have a good party.

And wild boar provide a truly wonderful source of wild meat. So so much better than phaesant, and probably better than most a lot of venison.

When in the woods they do a good job of turning over the forest floor and encouraging regrowth. Yes they munch a few bulbs.

But in the UK where we all think on a very monoculture mentality where every thing is about micromanagement and strict order I think we will struggle to recognise them for what they are.

And European Wild Boar are very different to Feral hogs in the US. Wild boar and an endemic species that have always been part of landscape but were only exterminated a few centuries ago. Buy they have remained the major game animal for most of mainland Europe and are widely distributed starting just across the English Chanel and then go right across to far east Russia. In the US I don’t think wild boar have occurred naturally occurred, although you do have pig like Javelinas, but they are a very different species.

 

[Wildlife Biologist]

Wild Russian boars have been imported to many places in the USA for sport hunting and released. Some also escaped. All this is believed to have started in the 1930s-1950s. They quickly started breeding with the feral hogs and proliferated. So in some places there are cross bred hogs and in others just feral hogs descended from domestic hogs. Populations are high in most States. Irregardless of the origin they are problematic.

 

[Franchi Matt]

As usual - folk gotta get killed before the severity of the situation hits home.

 

[Wildlife Biologist]

As usual - folk gotta get killed before the severity of the situation hits home.

It has been happening worldwide. There are a few cases in the USA every year of attacks with some resulting in gruesome deaths.