FC disgusting practices in the Forest of Dean?

Paul at Fechan

Well-Known Member
DJS PHOTOGRAPHY - Wild Boar photography by David J Slater

Check out the graph mid way down. There's a lot of 'big' pigs shot when sows are either heavily pregnant or with dependant young. Also look closely at the pattern of the graph. No seasonal consideration from the FC. While the website author is clearly biased against the FC, if the information is accurate I'm disgusted and horrified.

These animals need seasonal protection, they deserve that at least.
 
I totally agree they need seasonal protection but the FC dont want deer or pigs in their forestry.what ever their spin doctors say.
 
FAC shoot all deer night and day all year round in season and out its being known for years so why you shocked they do the same with boar !
 
I got talking to a game dealer from down there last year who has the contract for all the boar shot by the FC in the forest of Dean and I was amazed at the numbers he reackoned were shot and passed through his doors each week, if I rememeber correctly it was about 30 a week which seems far too many be maybe there are more than we think.
 
if you look at the weights it's just about slaughter, shoot on sight. Pregnant sows, sows with young or whatever. Some of the data shows they likely shot a sow with young following first and followed up on the young around her. Just terrible, depriving young of their mother in such circumstances amounts to an offence because of the suffering element. I'm sure they would say this is not the case.
 
Paul,

They do the same with deer under licence so why any difference with Boar.

Total eradication is what's needed. Boar cause havoc in Germany and they only struggle to kill 400,000 a year when they really need to achieve double that in order to stand still on population control.

Hence their plan on using the Army in 2012 to cull two million.

Stan
 
Paul,

They do the same with deer under licence so why any difference with Boar.

Total eradication is what's needed. Boar cause havoc in Germany and they only struggle to kill 400,000 a year when they really need to achieve double that in order to stand still on population control.

Hence their plan on using the Army in 2012 to cull two million.

Stan

Stan is correct on this. The UK should have a zero tolerance policy on wild boar. We are not shooting enough as it is. Yes it is awful when a animal suffers but we really don't need them running around doing serious damage in large numbers. You think deer damage pheasant pens and crops you should see what boar will do.
 
Yeh that's cool, shoot them out if it's a must but with a bit of seasonal consideration for welfare or is that thrown out the window because of an excuse??? This is not anti orientated DD but every hunter has a welfare responsibility and... Put your hand up now if you're morally ok with shooting sows with dependant young then???

Sorry if that's blunt but that's what you need to be cool with. Maybe I'm just a softy then who should keep quiet so long as everyone else pretends that's fine and dandy :confused:

This post started as a question not a statement :-|
 
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I would like to think the the FC are a little more considerate with their policy, and the I am sure the rangers I know would not consider shooting pregnant / lactating sows without good reason. I am not sure what figures are available as to the estimated number of boar in the FOD, but they do seem to be increasing at a good rate; I do know the FOC shoot / trap lots of them! The damage they do is incredible, perhaps not so visible at this time of year as the ground is too hard, but I speak to plenty of folks round here who are throughly p****d off with them. A few weeks ago we had an area of potatoes turned over and wasted, a few days later the broad beans were flattened!! We have fences pushed up which my pointer can walk through without touching the wire!! They are incredible animals and here to stay!

ATB

T
 
The UK should have a zero tolerance policy on wild boar.QUOTE]

Why?

True Wild Boar have been extinct in the UK since the 13th century.
Over the years people have tried to reintroduce them (16th and 17th century) and every time they have tried they have been hunted in to extinction again. 1. They are highly destructive to agricultural crops which are already under high enough demand.
2. With the last wolf being shot in the 17th century they now have no natural predators.
3. Much of their main habitat has now been destroyed which is likely to push them into more frequent conflicts with man.
 
Why are the FC wasteing tax payers money shooting wild boar? They do not damage their product, the trees, so therefore no need to cull them.
 
True Wild Boar have been extinct in the UK since the 13th century.
Over the years people have tried to reintroduce them (16th and 17th century) and every time they have tried they have been hunted in to extinction again. 1. They are highly destructive to agricultural crops which are already under high enough demand.
2. With the last wolf being shot in the 17th century they now have no natural predators.
3. Much of their main habitat has now been destroyed which is likely to push them into more frequent conflicts with man.

Agricultural crop production, ie. food production, in the UK is a marginal industry of ever diminishing importance, as evidenced by the ongoing decline in political will to secure such production. By contrast wild boar hunting is a growth industry generating real, new and unsubsidised financial returns and employment and is therefore an important fillip, throwing it's presently small lifeline to the fragile rural economy, much may it grow and prosper.

You are correct, there are no wolves yet (thank goodness) but there is the motor car, a voracious killer. Control measures to reduce the number of speed related fatalities and injuries on rural byeways might be a spin off benefit of more wild boar based traffic calming measures randomly appearing around the country. This can only be hoped for as a means to aid in curing man's self destructive use of the said motor car.

However, in conflicts between man and wild boar (such as you perhaps intend in your mentionings) my natural sympathies tend to lie with the underdog. In any case in Mano-a-Scrofa related face-offs the pig usually runs away faster than any man can chase.

As to the lack of habitat, isn't that always cited as being one of the ultimate sins of modern farmers. Any increase in wildboar must surely serve to alleviate such allegations against a marginal and ethnically minor group. Yes/No?

So, all in all and on the basis of the answers you supplied, I'm afraid I cannot presently form the view that your initial statement, which I questioned, has any validity.
 
eggy, that's very true although how is the case of the boar any different to the muntjac, CWD, sika and fallow who are all introduced (about 70k deer related accidents a year now isn't it?). The boar became extinct because of habitat loss and conflict with man and while there are no wolves here we are their natural predator now.

The land dynamic of the UK is very different to say France and Germany where the boar population has boomed and there is far more prime habitat for their survival and most importantly space. We are a heavily popuated island and our percentage woodland cover compared to Europe is far less and heavily biased toward commercial plantations in many parts of the UK. Realistically there are many areas where the wild boar can flourish here but this is not everywhere and the risks of a Germany type situation is unrealistic.

Most large wild mammals come into conflict with man in some way. Deer, fox, now boar and the list goes on so why not just appreciate that they are there and go with it as best we can. Hells bells, the Sika destroy my hardwoods up North in a big way but I wouldn't wish them gone so deal with it as best I can.
 
True Wild Boar have been extinct in the UK since the 13th century.
Over the years people have tried to reintroduce them (16th and 17th century) and every time they have tried they have been hunted in to extinction again. 1. They are highly destructive to agricultural crops which are already under high enough demand.
2. With the last wolf being shot in the 17th century they now have no natural predators.
3. Much of their main habitat has now been destroyed which is likely to push them into more frequent conflicts with man.

So we just need to reintroduce the wolf, which might also get help reducing the number of:
a. campers
b. hill walkers
c. Vagabonds
 
So we just need to reintroduce the wolf, which might also get help reducing the number of:
a. campers
b. hill walkers
c. Vagabonds

Can't argue with logic like that :D :thumb:

They certainly won't take down many healthy deer, like wot they're meant to, according to these guys:

http://www.wolvesandhumans.org/wolves/is_time_right_for_wolf_reintroduction.htm

I'm a creature of little brain so maybe I don't know that them wooly maggots is actually a type of deer, of course :rolleyes:

Happy stalking, and TTFN :tiphat:
 
"Agricultural crop production, ie. food production, in the UK is a marginal industry of ever diminishing importance, as evidenced by the ongoing decline in political will to secure such production. By contrast wild boar hunting is a growth industry generating real, new and unsubsidised financial returns and employment and is therefore an important fillip, throwing it's presently small lifeline to the fragile rural economy, much may it grow and prosper."

Agriculture pumps in 5 billion into the economy. Food production equates to 8% of the UK Economy. Marginal ?? Are you being serious??
Shooting relates to 1.6 billion. Of which I very much doubt that more than £1 million is generated from shooting wild boar in the UK. I don't see how it creates employment as the people doing the guiding are normally deer stalkers anyway. I am pleased to see you value the odd Wild Boar that people pay to shoot over the lively hood of the farmers who's crops they destroy.


"You are correct, there are no wolves yet (thank goodness) but there is the motor car, a voracious killer. Control measures to reduce the number of speed related fatalities and injuries on rural byeways might be a spin off benefit of more wild boar based traffic calming measures randomly appearing around the country. This can only be hoped for as a means to aid in curing man's self destructive use of the said motor car. "

You are comparing a natural predator to something that could result in the lose of human lives. I just did a quick google search on car crashed relating to wild boar in the UK, not highly scientific but there are a whopping 2 articles relating to this one from 2002 and one from 2010. Hardly the control a natural predator would inflict on the population now is it.

"However, in conflicts between man and wild boar (such as you perhaps intend in your mentionings) my natural sympathies tend to lie with the underdog. In any case in Mano-a-Scrofa related face-offs the pig usually runs away faster than any man can chase.

As to the lack of habitat, isn't that always cited as being one of the ultimate sins of modern farmers. Any increase in wildboar must surely serve to alleviate such allegations against a marginal and ethnically minor group. Yes/No?"

My comment relating to conflicts between man and wild boar relates to everything:
From increased agricultural damage
Increased car accidents
Increased woodland damage
etc etc.


"So, all in all and on the basis of the answers you supplied, I'm afraid I cannot presently form the view that your initial statement, which I questioned, has any validity."

Each to their own, but I could not work out if your questioning was meant to be comical or not. I have been instructed to kill any wild boar on sight should I ever encounter any on my ground so I can assure you I am not alone in my beliefs therefore they have validity.
 
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