Thursday 6 October 2011

Three Massive Wild Boars Run Away From Dogs!

I thought I had read and heard it all where the wild boars are concerned. "Scaremongering that is", until I read the following letter sent into a local newspaper from "anonymous."

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I WAS taking my dogs for a walk over to the wood by Pillowell Recreation Ground. When I arrived there I looked around and faced my worst nightmare as three massive boar had come out of the wood and were in the middle of the ground in among my dogs.
I screamed and called by dogs to me. We were very lucky as the boar ran back into the wood. I was so scared that I went back home.
I’m surrounded by woods but I am afraid to go into any of them now. The boar have taken over, though this was the first time I have seen them at Pillowell Recreation Ground.
But they have arrived, as you can see by the mess on the side of the road from Whitecroft to Lydney where they have dug up the edges.
We must have a cull. The Forestry Commission could make some money by selling boar meat.
It’s gone on for far too long now. Someone has to stop the boar. Please, round them up. The boar have taken over the Forest. It’s no longer safe to walk in our woods.
_____________________________

Now lets break this down...

I WAS taking my dogs for a walk over to the wood by Pillowell Recreation Ground. When I arrived there I looked around and faced my worst nightmare as three massive boar had come out of the wood and were in the middle of the ground in among my dogs.
I screamed and called by dogs to me. We were very lucky as the boar ran back into the wood. I was so scared that I went back home.

Firstly, you say that you faced your worst nightmare. This tells me that you already have a great fear of this animal. I wonder where this fear comes from? Maybe from reading articles or having conversations where the wild boar are being demonised.
Wild boar do not attack dogs unless provoked and although I admit that the sight of three boars around your dogs must have been daunting, your dogs obviously did nothing to provoke them, which means they were under control and returned to you when called back. And lets not forget the fact that it was the boars that ran away.



I’m surrounded by woods but I am afraid to go into any of them now. The boar have taken over, though this was the first time I have seen them at Pillowell Recreation Ground.

The boars have not taken over the forest. They are free living wild animals that have a territory, just like our deer. The fact is that as soon as this "small" sounder moves on, the chances that you will see another one in daylight hours will be very slim. There is no need to be scared of this animal.


But they have arrived, as you can see by the mess on the side of the road from Whitecroft to Lydney where they have dug up the edges.

Mess? I have a different view on what you call mess. Exposed dirt at the roadside and deep in the forest is just that; DIRT!
These rootings expose insects and grubs and many times I have seen small woodland birds taking advantage of this as they follow the boars around; especially in winter.
I have also seen orchids growing from the exposed soil, where the boars have again exposed dormant seeds in the ground.
What I call mess is a Saturday night / Sunday morning around our towns. Litter, including old tyres in the ditches that run parallel to our roads. Old discarded fencing strewn around our forest. Big ruts along foot paths where FC and Contractor vehicles have ploughed through.
Out of sight, out of mind?



We must have a cull. The Forestry Commission could make some money by selling boar meat.

Erm... They are being culled and the FC is making money from the carcasses and have been for a very long time.


It’s gone on for far too long now. Someone has to stop the boar. Please, round them up. The boar have taken over the Forest. It’s no longer safe to walk in our woods.

This is scary. You obviously hate these animals with a passion! I just hope that one day we, as a human race are not looked on in the same light. Look at what devestation we have caused this planet. Just walk into your back garden and take a look around. I would be surprised if there wasn't some exposed dirt out there. Ok for us to do it though, right!

1. Who has to stop the boar? They are a living wild animal that didn't ask to be dumped in the forest. And how would you stop them, shoot them all? Would you be happy then; after they have been eradicated from our forests just so you can walk your dog?
2. Round them up? You obviously have no understanding of the wild boar at all and this is why you hate them so much.
3. As mentioned earlier, they have not taken over the forest. It is safe to walk there and always will be.

Original article here...
http://www.forest-and-wye-today.co.uk/Letters.cfm?id=36715&headline=Not safe in the woods

4 comments:

  1. I agree that it was a very fearful letter, and I agreed with the first part of your response However, I felt later elements of your response could have been more considered. Would it be better to work on freeing people from this underlying emotion of irrational fear, rather than having a go at them them and bringing up the idea of hate?
    I've heard of people feeling threatened by boar running towards them as they got out of their car, but on enquiry it turns out that other people had been feeding the boar from cars at the same location, so it's more likely they were running up expecting more food.
    These sorts of facts need to be clearly stated, but I'm not sure it's helpful to see anyone as 'the enemy' if we're really hoping to educate them! As in all things Love is the only answer.

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  2. Dear eff, you're totally correct that education and consideration of people's feelings (real or imaginary) are taken into account. But we have been dismayed by so many silly comments in the press it does sometimes baffle us what to do. Sometimes we let our own emotions here run high trying to get our message across because it is so frustrating. We feel, through our collective and direct experience with being around boars, that our message is correct. Just attempting to ask people not to feed the boar recently was met with condescension and bad language by those doing the feeding. It shows just how ingrained people's attitudes are on both sides of the coin. Sometimes, wearing your heart on your sleeve as Rob did here, is sometimes a good thing so you can see we are human and down to Earth people here. Love is the only way, your right, but it takes a lifetime to learn how best to show and send that love. We love the boar for sure, but we are learning here to del with the complex animal called a human, so thanks so much for your courteous advice. We need more of it.

    Friends of the boar

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  3. You're welcome! I share your frustration, and I too have had silly responses to asking people to stop feeding. With regard to the black sow and her six rapidly growing youngsters the damage has been done as they have become increasingly tame over the past month. I've had to accept that there isn't anything I can do to protect individual animals, but my hope is that the boar will work in our psyches so that more and more people will come to give them their due respect. In the meantime we have to keep challenging the scare stories and stating the facts as we experience them. Thanks for your good work.

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  4. It's really pleasure to read your post. Thank you so much for writing such a nice post

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