Total Wild Boar numbers

[Pine Marten]

Since this time the shooting has been let to the KWA, pigeon/birds only .........however the deer and Boar belonged to another two people who had contacts inside the FC. Needless to say the amount of Boar now is much reduced. Plus I was told a few years back that there are some 13 high seats around the FC wood edge and everyone is shooting pigs.

That was Beckley Wood I believe. I used to shoot there until the KWCA lost the shooting following complaints from other members of the public who didn't like the fact that it happened. In fact, I shot my first woodcock there. I was speaking to another SD member this weekend who had looked into stalking there. Certainly when I last went there were possible signs of boar, but not a lot. A couple of dog walkers mentioned seeing them. I never did though.

 

[sikamalc]

That was Beckley Wood I believe. I used to shoot there until the KWCA lost the shooting following complaints from other members of the public who didn't like the fact that it happened. In fact, I shot my first woodcock there. I was speaking to another SD member this weekend who had looked into stalking there. Certainly when I last went there were possible signs of boar, but not a lot. A couple of dog walkers mentioned seeing them. I never did though.

Correct Lawrence. However I think that maybe the past people leasing the area had helped themselves to some of the Boar. I had a session in a high seat there about 4 years ago, no luck at all. At the time the whole area was being badly poached by the travelling community I was told. As for getting the stalking on there good luck with that one, I hardly think its worth it now. In the past my friend used to take all sorts of TV personalities in there to show the Boar and told me that the numbers were about 400+ last time I spoke with him he reckoned that the numbers were no where near anything like they were in the past and were about 40 within that area.

 

[Pine Marten]

I did used to see fallow in there pretty much every time I went, and a couple of nice bucks too. Here are some from October 2011:

 

[mudman]

With no first hand experience and from only what I can read online there seems to be only one very strong population of boar, those in the Forest of Dean. Most populations, including those aforementioned are under immense shooting shooting pressure and it seems few of these can stand it. With either a range contraction or total numbers reducing or both.

it also seems that every man and his dog wants the kudos of bagging a boar without any thought whether or not it is sustainable.

the sporting community should decide whether we want a sustainable resource and shoot boar as a sporting quarry within certain "ethical" constraints or whether we want to do the farming communities dirty work and "manage" them to the point of extinction..again.

 

[timbrayford]

With no first hand experience and from only what I can read online there seems to be only one very strong population of boar, those in the Forest of Dean. Most populations, including those aforementioned are under immense shooting shooting pressure and it seems few of these can stand it. With either a range contraction or total numbers reducing or both.

it also seems that every man and his dog wants the kudos of bagging a boar without any thought whether or not it is sustainable.

the sporting community should decide whether we want a sustainable resource and shoot boar as a sporting quarry within certain "ethical" constraints or whether we want to do the farming communities dirty work and "manage" them to the point of extinction..again.

And of course shooting sports are self-supporting and totally independent of external financial assistance.

The income from 500 -600 Boar stalks and carcases must be significant enough to consider as an alternative to conventional farm crops for those farmers who can see beyond merely treating the Boar as vermin.

 

[ELMER FUDD]

Fact is, these pigs are pests like it or not, they are not sporting animals and cause many thousands of pounds of damage to agricultural land which is being used to either grow a cash crop or fodder for the farm animals. They are also partial to a bit of lamb and will kill young deer, we watched a large boar come trotting down the field one night and it was actually hunting as when it got near the edge it turned and ran into the bushes and there was an awful screaming sound which I can only presume was a newly born munty as we listened to another munty barking for a long time near to the bushes.

Farmers have had to move their lambs closer to home as many were going missing.

I took someone to a field recently where lambs were being attacked and found 3 dead lambs which were all well grown and the guy sat in the tower and spotted a boar which came out of the woods and walked along the edge of the field until it got in line with a dead lamb, then made a sharp turn and walked directly to it where it was dispatched. Only a yearling but it obviously already had a taste for lamb. I don't doubt they will clean up already dead lambs but will also get a taste for it.

Do we want to see them wiped out, some people do and not just around the Dean and people who know me will know what I mean.

 

[timbrayford]

Fact is, these pigs are pests like it or not, they are not sporting animals and cause many thousands of pounds of damage to agricultural land which is being used to either grow a cash crop or fodder for the farm animals. They are also partial to a bit of lamb and will kill young deer, we watched a large boar come trotting down the field one night and it was actually hunting as when it got near the edge it turned and ran into the bushes and there was an awful screaming sound which I can only presume was a newly born munty as we listened to another munty barking for a long time near to the bushes.

Farmers have had to move their lambs closer to home as many were going missing.

I took someone to a field recently where lambs were being attacked and found 3 dead lambs which were all well grown and the guy sat in the tower and spotted a boar which came out of the woods and walked along the edge of the field until it got in line with a dead lamb, then made a sharp turn and walked directly to it where it was dispatched. Only a yearling but it obviously already had a taste for lamb. I don't doubt they will clean up already dead lambs but will also get a taste for it.

Do we want to see them wiped out, some people do and not just around the Dean and people who know me will know what I mean.

So you don't intend to treat them as a potentially lucrative source of income then?

 

[ELMER FUDD]

So you don't intend to treat them as a potentially lucrative source of income then?

I take out the odd person and anything I get is shared with the landowners, friends go for free. I could easily advertise boar shooting and fill my book but I don't do it for the money.

 

[timbrayford]

I take out the odd person and anything I get is shared with the landowners, friends go for free. I could easily advertise boar shooting and fill my book but I don't do it for the money.

That's good but surely if farmers are to take a positive view of Boar (& deer) the income stream generated needs to exceed the nuisance caused?

 

[ELMER FUDD]

They are looked upon as pests and that's why I was called and they just wanted rid of them. I was even asked what my fee was, but now they get the damage to their fields limited and get cash to pay for new seed etc and repair the damage. Some landowners I am sure will get as much as they can out of the boar situation by charging massive fees and I have heard as much as £500 to shoot 1 pig being charged.

Some farms where I manage the boar get people calling all the time offering ridiculous amounts of money for the boar shooting and I asked one farmer why they have never been taken up and he said they wouldn't entertain anybody who came asking so its not always about money.

 

[Eddie P]

They are looked upon as pests and that's why I was called and they just wanted rid of them. I was even asked what my fee was, but now they get the damage to their fields limited and get cash to pay for new seed etc and repair the damage. Some landowners I am sure will get as much as they can out of the boar situation by charging massive fees and I have heard as much as £500 to shoot 1 pig being charged.

Some farms where I manage the boar get people calling all the time offering ridiculous amounts of money for the boar shooting and I asked one farmer why they have never been taken up and he said they wouldn't entertain anybody who came asking so its not always about money.

I guess it's a tricky situation. If a farmer can get that much, why wouldn't they? £500 per boar surely would offset the damage? If there is no money in them then I can understand wanting them eradicated.

It's the same with big game in Africa, once the locals see the money in management being more than the damage, then a conservation program becomes sustainable. Untill that point the animal are just a threat to their livelihoods and survival.

That said, I'd love to shoot one, but I can't justify that sort of money to shoot something the landowner see as a big pest.

 

[Penyard]

So if FC shot > 500 with 4 local Rangers and further 4 drafted Rangers and an individual shot 600 then that is the entire estimated population shot in one season. Why am I sceptical about the individual shooting 600? Where do you start? How about APHA have not received trichinella tests for this number of animals from an individual, the local market has not been flooded, the principal game dealer for this area certainly hasn't been taking them and I estimate a carcass value circa £100,000. Then there is the practical considerations of actually culling, gralloching, extracting, handling, storing and marketing that number of boar. Finally, I suspect I and my boar hunting pals round here might of heard about this legend of the local boar hunting world!

 

[Tom D]

How many boar related RTA's do you get down your way? If the numbers are that high I would suspect quite a few...

 

[JTO]

If a farmer can get that much, why wouldn't they? £500 per boar surely would offset the damage? If there is no money in them then I can understand wanting them eradicated.

That said, I'd love to shoot one, but I can't justify that sort of money to shoot something the landowner see as a big pest.

I doubt any farmer will get £500 per pig. The 'guide' might!

 

[timbrayford]

They are looked upon as pests and that's why I was called and they just wanted rid of them. I was even asked what my fee was, but now they get the damage to their fields limited and get cash to pay for new seed etc and repair the damage. Some landowners I am sure will get as much as they can out of the boar situation by charging massive fees and I have heard as much as £500 to shoot 1 pig being charged.

Some farms where I manage the boar get people calling all the time offering ridiculous amounts of money for the boar shooting and I asked one farmer why they have never been taken up and he said they wouldn't entertain anybody who came asking so its not always about money.

An evening in a high seat for a Boar recently sold for over £ 800 in the BDS auction, and that did not guarantee success nor include the carcase. I'm sure those sort of figures are exceptional but Boar stalking seems to command a far greater commercial fee than deer stalking culls.

With returns from conventional farm crops so uncertain to the point at which farm incomes need to be subsidised it really is surprising that farmers are not exploiting the full earning potential of the Boar.

If the figure of 500 Boar on one farm is correct then this farmer is foregoing a gross annual income of well over a £ 100,000, there's not many people who would choose to do that.

 

[Sanglier 857]

Was the Guy you spoke to Walter Mitty?.

 

[Sanglier 857]

Was the Guy you spoke to Walter Mitty?, they will not all have have 10 young, an average is about 7, with many only actually rearing 4-5, as one guy has already said, that would make more boar than trees!.

 

[ELMER FUDD]

An evening in a high seat for a Boar recently sold for over £ 800 in the BDS auction, and that did not guarantee success nor include the carcase. I'm sure those sort of figures are exceptional but Boar stalking seems to command a far greater commercial fee than deer stalking culls.

With returns from conventional farm crops so uncertain to the point at which farm incomes need to be subsidised it really is surprising that farmers are not exploiting the full earning potential of the Boar.

If the figure of 500 Boar on one farm is correct then this farmer is foregoing a gross annual income of well over a £ 100,000, there's not many people who would choose to do that.

The farmer who said he shot 600 last year is the farmer and he shoots over 9 farms

There are game dealers who have their own vets to do the trichinella tests and I know this for sure as the game dealer I use told me not to send samples off as the vet was going to be there to test all the carcasses. Makes no odds to me what people do or say they do, I am merely repeating what I was told.
At the end of the day I still have plenty of land to control the pigs on.

 

[Penyard]

All trichinella tests done by APHA, even if it is a sample taken by a vet at AGHE. They all go off for testing with the results logged, including which county animal was shot in and I have seen the figures.

 

[Tom D]

So no one seen or heard of boar RTA's then? if the numbers are as high as some of you suggest I would expect to be seeing as many flat boars as flat roe in these areas, and I doubt that is happening.