Wild Boar cull in the FoD

[Omegarod]

In the local newspapers, which are not circulated in Dudley, half the country away.

I give up.
You obviously have a different point of view because you don't live with them on your doorstep. Fair enough. You are entitled to your point of view, and I am entitled to mine, which will remain unshaken.

Rod

 

[Glosfisher]

I stand to be corrected but I'm sure the Wild Boar population in the FoD are not frightened of humans because their presence in the FoD is as a result of being dumped there by a farmer who decided wild boar farming wasn't worth the candle. Consequently they have become conditioned to accepting the presence of humans, because a human fed them every day!.

However if these humans do anything that is perceived as a threat by the wild boar, i.e. let their dogs off-leash or surprise them when cycling quietly on a bike, the boar will defend themselves.

The boar don't need managing, the humans do. They need to learn some resect for their surroundings.

 

[some like it cold]

Its typical just days after i post saying i have never seen a wild boar i come back from walking the dog to find two in the garden. I have taught our dog to go home and wait in the garden for me which i sent her to do at the end of the walk. Luckily someone had seen the boar and followed them to my garden sending my dog away when she got back to the garden.

These boar were quite tame the man who'd followed them herded them out of the garden and they walked past the dog without incident (my wife had it by the collar). Thats not to say i'd have wanted to deal with them if they were being aggressive.

In respect to Glosfisher i do not view my back garden as surroundings i need to learn to respect. Im neither pro cull or anti cull if the boar are aggressive they should be dealt with if not and in the middle of nowhere in the woods leave them be

 

[Glosfisher]

I entirely agree that if wild boar are coming into people's back gardens then something has to be done although I'm not sure a limited cull would help.

In North America, large mammals are detered from returning to human habitation through the use of flash-bangs and baton rounds. Have the powers-that-be considered this approach?

 

[Commoner]

"Wipe out" is not viable, it'd take years to over-hunt them again. Boar are in most counties now, best get used to them, nimbyism is not a viable option. Dogs out of control or people stumbling into boar with dog on short lead trying to protect it etc. are likely flash points. An educated public is best option. Isolated trouble-makers should/could be re-marketed ;o) yum

Dogs are more of a hazard, in gardens, to children and generally but no-one is advocating a cull on them. Get some perspective and some apple sauce...

 

[locomountaineer]

Just happened to read this thread as it caught my eye. We (UK folk) have been separated from Boar by some considerable amount of time now. Re-education is key here. They have been re-introduced, and have escaped too, and this is something that we have to learn more about through encounter, and through exchange of information with countries who already have an established population.

The idea of culls abhors me completely.

I would disagree with (but understand completely) the comment that your back garden does not count as "surroundings". The only difference between one's garden and the countryside is whatever boundary one has erected to keep the wilds out. Britain as an island is a single landscape and we occupy part of it. If our boundary isn't high enough and robust enough to keep out whatever might be out there, then nature will find a way into our gardens. Our garden is a part of the british landscape, try telling the blackbirds and blue tits not to come in. They won't listen. We either need to increase the integrity of our boundaries, or deal with the consequences.

I questioned myself on this as to what I would do if a wild boar (or someone's dog, or a fox, cat, angry person etc entered my garden and was threatening my daughter's well being. The answer: I would do what I could to get rid of it from my garden and to save my daughter from harm, if that meant causing it harm or even killing it - so be it. That's nature at it's best. We should get on with living our life and deal with the challenges as they arise. To attempt to control nature to any significant level is just arrogance in my view. We can't do it. Long after us humans have vanished from the face of the Earth (and we will vanish), life on earth will continue for many billions of years until the planet itself dies. Killing a few thousand boar here, and a few hundred cormorants there, and a couple of hundred badgers somewhere else, is short-sighted and unlikely to succeed.

It's a very interesting and emotive topic, and I'd like to know if anyone else out there shares the longer term vision that I do.

Anyone agree/disagree? Be interested to hear either way.

 

[Klenchblaize]

In attempting to protect something one cherishes I see no reason not to deploy ecologically sound best practice that is to be proactive.

 

[mayobushcraft]

Having grown up in Florida with a long established wild boar population they are mostly nocturnal. You see the signs of them mostly turned over ground and uprooted bushes. They can be very dangerous if injured or cornered. But attacks are rare. I have seen a few in the woods as well as bear and Florida panther (cougars). There are many wild and dangerous animals in the world and some are in our back yard. Hunting with guns and bows is an effective way to control the numbers in an area. They belong to the land owner so can be hunted year round. But if they leave one owners land and enter someone elses they then become that persons animal. They are not native to the States and were imported from Europe.
Just a little info.

 

[Tengu]

The idea of boar menacing food off schoolchildren (and possibly eating them for afters) is very appealing to me.

 

[johnboy]

Hi,

NZ has an extremely large population of wild pigs (boar) Introduced as a food and game animal. Pig hunting is an extremely popular pastime here both spotlighting ( lamping) and hunting with dogs with the kill being achieved with a firearm or if your a good keen 'man' a knife.... It's all done on foot I havent seen the use of High seats as such but some folk do use a 'Meat pit' which is effectively a bait station. Pigs are of course a pest animal here in NZ along with all of the other introduced animals such as Deer and Goats, Possums, feral cats, stoats, Rabbits etc... DoC ( Department of Conservation) has a large aerial dropped baiting programme to rid areas of the bush of these larger mammals using cereal pellets treated with 1080 poison which are lethal to Deer, Pigs goats and dogs but leave bird life untouched. '1080' use is not without controversey. The hunting community does not like it as it is very effective and wiping out the 'game' in a given area... Pigs generally take 18 months to recover in an area that's had a 1080 drop, or at least that's my experience in the area I spotlight in.

I can vouch that Boar are agressive as I've run into them during my bush trips. They have poor eyesight but good smell and hearing so it's possible to catch them by surprise which is when problems start. I can also vouch that boar is good eating especially if the boar is taken on clover pasture and you deal with 'ball taint' swiftly and effectively when dressing the kill.

I would say the cull if it goes ahead in the FoD will reduce the level of incidents involving Man + Dog V Pig for a while until the population recovers. Shooting will not erradicate the population IMHO. It will make pigs more wary (as I'm guessing there is not currently much Hunting pressure on them) so likely driving them deeper into cover.

Rod If you'd like me to send you a copy of 'More Pork' the NZ Pig hunters Magazine of choice I'd be happy to do so...

It's not considered good 'sport' to shoot the baby pigs unless there is a Hangi around the corner.....

 

[Klenchblaize]

Good old NZ Pig Hunter magazine. Where men are men; knives are large and boxer shorts are banned!

Cheers

 

[johnboy]

Good old NZ Pig Hunter magazine. Where men are men; knives are large and boxer shorts are banned!

Cheers

NZ Pig Hunter is posh... More Pork is the one....

 

[Commoner]

Be wary of assertions about large mammals being nocturnal as local, especially isolated, populations often adapt to crepuscal/nocturnal behaviour simply to avoid hom sap. Take otter in Scottish sea lochs versus otters in southern England, same species but the latter are barely ever seen in daylight...

I agree that likely end result is less conflict for a period, during which time both populations (hom sap and sus scrofa) will re-educate about their neighbours!

I also agree that long-term planet will be populated by something, irrespective of our place in whatever ecosystem is left, but it will be less diverse and less beautiful therefore.

I still think there's a canny opening for a FoD apple sauce!

 

[Woody110]

The minus side to wild boar populations in this country is that they will damage ancient woodland and eat bluebells and other herbaceous plants associated with long established woodland.

The plus side is that they will attack dogs roaming through woods that should be leashed. I'm getting increasingly fed up with countryside access and management policies being dictated by dog owners, many of whom seem to view the countryside's only function as somewhere for their uncontrolled animals to defecate. I went down to the New Forest National Park this weekend (I was born and lived within its bounds for 20 years) and was horrified by the sheer number of unleashed dogs, yet you're not allowed to collect sticks anymore!.

I have two trained Springer Spaniels and they are off the lead when in the woods, as they are when they are working. They don’t have collars on as they gat caught on fences, bushes etc. I have slip leads for them and a whistle, one blow on this and they are at my side. You knock all dog owners, I think you should have a think that not all dogs and owners are the same.
How heartless can you be to say that it is a good thing that boar’s should attack dogs, what about the safety of the owner. Yes some dog owners are irresponsible, but come on don’t be so close minded.

I grew up on a farm and my family have lost many sheep to dogs so I am not close minded, I am fully aware of the damage a dog can do. I have seen dogs shot as they are attacking sheep, and have no problems doing the same, as long as it is legal.

We are all given the right to have an opinion, and I have read yours, I just don’t agree.