Celebrity Status

It's been a tense week here in the Forest of Dean.  Leaked information of the Forestry Commission "going after" the black sow and her piglets made for a quick and angry response from Friends of the Boar.  This friendly young family is possibly one of the best wildlife events for many years, and should really be making national news.  We have been getting her some publicity in the local press, calling on the papers, radio and TV to get her some coverage.  But like many media outlets, they are slow to react and rarely cover even 10% of what we want to say.

But she is surviving and is still giving residents and tourists a rare treat of a close wildlife encounter.

A natural scene from our distant past.  Humans living alongside our ancient animals. (click to enlarge).

It is a medieval, and many say, a natural scene.  She "belongs" here, seeming to fit into the landscape as much as the trees do (unlike the sheep we have roaming free and alongside roads).  And so she would do, as this is a native wild animal.

Many generations on now from captivity, when these wild boar were being brought from Europe for breeding with domestic pigs.  They are not feral (escaped domestic animals like cats and dogs living wild), and never have been because they have always been "wild boar".  An escaped mink from a fur farm or muntjac from a zoo are not termed feral and neither should the boars. The label of "feral" was a government response to appease farmers and hunters, as feral status infers no legal protection.  They are the genuine article and need protection such as a closed season and licensing regulations on firearms used to kill them.

Long may they live without fear and persecution for doing their great and ancient job of natural forest management.

DJS

Do Not Feed The Boar

Since the last posting, the black sow and her 6 piglets has been admired by hundreds of passers by.  She stayed for 4 days and has now moved on.  We didn't want to say exactly where she was because of fears of either poaching or opportunist culling.  She is so tame and friendly that she is an easy target.  The event was amazing because boar sightings are now very rare indeed in the Dean - she has certainly made up for this for us.

Her appearance in the forest close to Speech House had the public talking and questioning.  She brought into the light many of the issues surrounding the wild boar and its management that Friends of the Boar are trying to promote.

Firstly, wild boar are not dangerous and are a joy to behold. A large native wild mammal that we as a species have grown up with, unlike other Forest of Dean favourites such as fallow deer, mandarin duck, rabbit, brown hare, little owl and grey squirrel.

Secondly, we noted that several well-wishers were feeding her.  Please do not feed the boar!  We are their friends yes, but feeding will ultimately be their demise.  Wild Boar can very quickly become habituated to people.  This is nice we agree, BUT, there are poachers as well as rangers who will kill her and her piglets if at all possible. 

The FC are very afraid of any boar becoming aggressive towards people, which may arise due to boar "expecting" food.  At the moment, the FC will pre-empt this by an immediate bullet despite this aggression never having occured  We believe this is wrong of course and are trying to get a policy change on this - but it will only be possible if no feeding by the public or the FC is enforced.

Articificial feeding of boar can give them the sufficient nutrition to bring them into season more than once a year.  This also brings their existence here into question due to fears of population explosion (mostly unfounded we claim when well managed).

True wild boar living a wild existence only have one litter per year, of up to 6 piglets.  This has been shown to be the case right across Europe. Yet a minority of the boar here are potentially hybridised with domestic pigs.  DNA studies are not conclusive, but if so these few boar, and their offspring, may breed more than once a year - all due to selective tampering with nature as is usually the case with meat bred for profit.  It is our experience that the wild boar in the Dean do not have excessive numbers of piglets per brood (usually 4-6), but it is not certain just how often they give birth due to uncertainties surrounding piglet deaths, population density or nutrition.

Wild Boar as a pure strain have a gestation period of 4 months, and after birth will stay with their piglets for a further 3-4 months.  There just isn't enough time for 2 litters a year unless her piglets are shot or die, when in that case the sow will come back into season.

We don't believe feeding by people is to blame for any over-population - yet, after all, the Forestry Commission and Defra have been feeding the boar intensively over the last few years as part of a contraceptive research programme (looking to lace contraceptives into baited maize at special feeder sites), and also at baited high seats where rangers shoot any boar unfortunate enough to be hungry and lured into a kiling zone.

Thankfully, we are told by the FC, that feeding has stopped.  But the FC need to understand that the population explosion they quoted in the press throughout 2010 into early 2011 could well be (if it was true) as a result of overculling (with the usual population rebound to follow) and their own baiting stations, some of which also included deer carcasses.

We would love this sow and her piglets to live long and become a tourist attraction.  She is very unusual for being so approachable, which may be due to her orphan status (her mother shot) whereby she was not given the experience from her parents about humans, or roads for that matter. She is also a very young mother, with her first piglets when she must have been about 6 months old.  This again may be due to high nutrition availability, but also if population numbers here in the Dean are very low some process perhaps involving pheromones is stimulating early breeding in young sows.  A well managed population should eliminate this effect.

In some ways her friendliness could be her saving grace, as poachers and FC culls will not shoot close to human dwellings or at tourist spots.

She is very distinctive, and if you see her, could you please get in touch with us and let us know where she is.  We want to protect her not just from the guns but also from the public who may be feeding her.

DJS

Almost Everyone Loves The Boar

The Forest of Dean is on THE map.  Many of us in Friends of the Boar have been saying for some time just how special our forest is.  But lttle do most residents actually realise that our forest is TRULY special.  Nowhere else in the British Isles are you more likely to come into contact with our ancient Wildwood species of animal.

The recent scare over the sell-off of Britain's forests into private hands created a public outcry here in the Forest of Dean with protest marches occuring regularly.  Many of the "action" groups, including Hands Off Our Forest (HOOF) got much of the attention, but few of this group could actually state the case well - just WHY is the Forest of Dean so special.  Most quoted landscape, history or tradition, but amazingly to us, nobody quoted wildlife as the reason.

In recent weeks the wild boar are making themselves conspicuous again by roadside "mootings".  It is the rut and the boar are on the move.  It's a seasonal event and we predict all the usual press stories about how the boar are damaging gardens and picnic sites.  It is so droll, and most of the criticism is coming from people who moved from a town, into the Forest, not realising there would be wildlife here!  Sadly, people like to complain, and very few of us will write to the press with good stories.  Please write your good stories!

So here is one.

We are glad to say that wellwishers are everywhere.  A recent event (first week of September 2011) had a very young sow with six piglets visiting a local beauty spot and had residents and tourists alike smiling and wishing good health and future for the boar.  They created an instant traffic jam as people rushed from their cars to take a photo.  The energy and enthusiasm for the event was brilliant and heartwarming.

The boar pictured above are typically friendly.  A very young sow, maybe just under a year old, has six very cute and amazingly friendly piglets at her side.  She must be one of the youngest mothers ever experienced here in the Forest.  Everyone was delighted to get so close to them.  Even a child can be safe in their presence....(despite the fearmongering over the last 5 years)..

A young toddler of one of the members of Friend of the Boar enjoys her natural heritage

The potential for this family of boar to create a tourist attraction is tremendous.  Please ignore the ridiculous hype about how dangerous these animals are.  Here is photographic proof from early September 2011 to show you the FACTS.

But Friends of the Boar know all too well that this family will be easy pickings for the meat trade.  By the meat trade, we mean the Forestry Commission, who have legal contracts to sell boar "venison" to private traders.  If they fail to provide they will be sued.  They also have a public relations commitment to achieve a cull target, decided by sticking a wet finger into the breeze and thinking of a number! (see blog entry below).

If you are appauled by the possibilty that the above sow and her adorable and extremely friendly piglets will be shot dead purely in order to fulfil legal contracts, and as a bit of sport by FC hunters, then please sign the petition for a closed season (below).  Please please get in touch with us to add your name as a supporter of the wild boar here in the Forest of Dean and elsewhere around the country.

DJS.