Forest of Dean Virgins.

Highseat

Well-Known Member
My wife Lynn and I have just been on our first visit to the Forest of Dean,we arrived on Monday afternoon and before going to the cottage we'd booked, we had walk in the forest, after a three hour drive we and the dog were ready to stretch our legs. Less than two hundred yards from the car Fern my yellow Lab had clearly scented something, her nose up nudging at the air, probably a pheasant tucked up in the brakern I thought. Then I saw what at first I thought was two munties but quickly realised they were piglets and soon joined by several more, probably high teens,running towards two adults. Two sows I think because there were probably too many young for one, although one was much bigger and darker, so could maybe have been a boar. We Watched them for about ten minutes ,the two kept having a look at us but weren't spooked at all. That was our first of several encounters with wild boar through the week, I was wondering if any one knows how many are culled per year and, if any Forum members are lucky enough to shoot any.
 
Elmer Fudd is up there I believe - there's more up there than you can shake a stick at! must PM him some time to hopefully join in the cause :thumb:

Just to be clear, my stomping ground was up there when I was younger and playing rugby for Drybrook - there were certainly no virgins there then, nor now I wager! :D
 
I think the boar cull has been stepped up and is now about 200 by the FC in the Forest of Dean area plus those shot by private stalkers. The vast bulk of the FoD is in FC ownership, they tend not to let stalking in this area and private stalking is limited to the woods around the periphery and accounts for nowhere near as many.

The boar crossed the Wye into Wales quite some time ago and are well down the Wye Valley towards Chepstow and more opportunity should be available before too long.

i have lucky enough to go after boar in the area, shot two and saw many more including some very big boys.
 
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I think the boar cull has been stepped up and is now about 200 by the FC in the Forest of Dean area plus those shot by private stalkers. The vast bulk of the FoD is in FC ownership, they tend not to let stalking in this area and private stalking is limited to the woods around the periphery and accounts for nowhere near as many.

The boar crossed the Wye into Wales quite some time ago and are well down the Wye Valley towards Chepstow and more opportunity should be available before too long.

i have lucky enough to go after boar in the area, shot two and saw many more including some very big boys.
I expected to see it on the menus in the restaurants but all there was were burgers. Is the meat good or only for sausage, burgers and slow cooking?
 
I think the boar cull has been stepped up and is now about 200 by the FC in the Forest of Dean area plus those shot by private stalkers. The vast bulk of the FoD is in FC ownership, they tend not to let stalking in this area and private stalking is limited to the woods around the periphery and accounts for nowhere near as many.

The boar crossed the Wye into Wales quite some time ago and are well down the Wye Valley towards Chepstow and more opportunity should be available before too long.

i have lucky enough to go after boar in the area, shot two and saw many more including some very big boys.

Think of the cash the FC could raise if they let a few driven days....
 
Think of the cash the FC could raise if they let a few driven days....

How would you drive them, bearing in mind the law regarding hunting with hounds and that there aren't any suitable trained dogs in this country.

There's enough of a problem already with every man jack with a gun in and around the forest pestering the boar already. Ask anyone who takes it seriously and they will tell you that its not uncommon for boar that they shoot to be peppered with shotgun pellets and small calibre bullets.
I think its quite wise of the FC to keep the cull in-house.

P.S. Some restaurants and pubs in the FoD do serve wild boar but not sure where they source it.
 
I wasn't actually expecting that the FC would do this, particularly given the aversion to anything not detailed as "best practise" that we seem to have to live with. God forbid anyone should shoot something for sport.

However, does the law not allow, for example, for foxes to be driven to standing guns by a pack of hounds? Or how else do the hunts keep it legal over there?
 
No two dogs maximum. The law has killed off a lot of fox drives local to me.

The FC do carry out accompanied stalking or at least did in the FoD but only for deer and not for boar.
 
I encountered them whilst out on the mountain bike last week at the Canop cycle center, I turned round as the piglets ran away but mum stayed on the trail looking at me.
 
I expected to see it on the menus in the restaurants but all there was were burgers. Is the meat good or only for sausage, burgers and slow cooking?

Far from it, boar meat is fantastic and is roughly to pork what mutton is to lamb in terms of flavour. All our boar originate from farms and they weren't set up just to provide meat for burgers! However, as with any other meat, not all cuts are prime roasting joints and some has to go for sausages and burgers.
 
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The Shooting Times this week carries a report that the FC are trying to get the Forest of Dean population down to 400 but it didn't say whether this was 400 adults or 400 including followers.
 
It would 400 inc youngsters, pigletts that have lost there stripes. Pigs are in the FOD to stay. Sadly though still no season on them or caliber restrictions so lots of piglets are orphaned, I know that they breed most of the year but the main of the young seem to be born spring/summer. I am lucky enough to shoot a good number every year, But in general there a pain in the arse with the damage they do.
 
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