Has anyone been lucky enough to see any wild boar? I believe that some have been released in to the wild in some counties in the South East and Devon, but I have never seen one. I'm not sure of numbers in the UK but they are breeding well in sustainable populations.

They are very timid when it comes to humans, and I have been told that some have become nocturnal to avoid human contact. I haven't seen any signs of them in Surrey but I am sure there are some in neighbouring Sussex so there may well be some living around here.

Feral hogs are a real pest in the United States. In fact, there is no hunting season on them here in the state of Washington, they may be killed without even a license. They have been introduced by mis-guided people who want to have another game animal to hunt. They are horrible for the environment, as they dig and root.

Have the wild boars been properly introduced into the environment? What are the plans and reasons for the re-introduction?

Kingfisher

I didn't even know there were any wild boar! Thanks for letting me know, it might of been quite a shock to stumble across one!

I'm fairly certain that originally these escaped from a farm and have subsequently thrived in the wild. I haven't heard of any plans to properly re-introduce them into either Surrey of Sussex.

After doing a quick spot of research, it would seem that you are right. They are escapees, and apparently not even really considered 'wild boars'. They are called that for marketing the meat as 'wild boar', but they seem to be legally nothing more than hairy pigs. Still, I would not want to have to escape from an angry one.

Kingfisher

I think they have been originally established through escaping, but some populations have been around for close to 10 years so they are definitely sustainable.

This is the new Natural England stance with regards to the returning animals:

I found this on http://www.britishwildboar.org.uk/ which is a very interesting read.

That is in fact most enlightening. The position in the US is for the most part, that feral hogs (because they are not actually 'wild boars') are non-native, and therefore, noxious pests due to their destructive habits. I believe that in Texas, also, that they have a detrimental effect of the native javelina population.

Obviously, wild boar are native to the UK, so I am glad to see that a position has been developed to include the boar as a re-introduced native species.

Kingfisher

I'm glad they are considered their own species here because as you say they're native to Britain originally. What are the environmental consequences of them returning to Britain? Do they only do good to the countryside or are there some negatives? As until relatively recently (in evolution time scales) they lived here, I would imagine that the British environment is fairly well adapted to them.

I always find the thought of an animal returning to our island exciting. It's is amazing that the boar seem to be making a return themselves, it shows how well suited they are to Britain.

Here is an article from one of the states in the US which gives a good overview:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=364153

In light of the recent thread we've had on Shambo, the temple bull, it would be of concern if the wild boars were found to be spreading tuberculosis.

Kingfisher

It would be a concern if they could carry TB, and I would think that if badgers can they probably can too. I don't think there is anywhere near enough of them yet in the UK to worry about them spreading the disease, but if they start to thrive in the future it could be a problem.

Shhhhush don't give the farmers ideas or there won't be wild boar in the UK for much longer!

Sorry, couldn't resist

Thanks for the link Kingfisher, in all seriousness it is worrying that the pigs/boar can carry so many dangerous diseases, especially if they do start to thrive as they could do. They are native to the UK after all. This is the quote that got me thinking, although it does say none have been found carrying the diseases so far.

All of those diseases will cause economic distress or worse. I know that most people aren't concerned with trichinosis any longer, because pigs pick that up from eating raw garbage (and the feeding of raw garbage has been banned, but the outbreak of hoof and mouth in 2001 was attributed to a farmer who had fed his pigs uncooked garbage!), but on the other hand, my state of Washington had a man die relatively recently from eating bear meat infected with trichinosis.

Wild boars could be a good addition to the UK wildlife, but I suspect that they will be closely watched to ensure that they do not get out of hand.

Kingfisher