MASS CULL GETS GO AHEAD

*WILD BOAR LATEST*

We are talking about many animals lives, which are at stake, so please excuse the multiple posts regarding wild boar.

This is evidence that the vast majority of people who are "for" a mass cull of boar in the Forest of Dean, do not know what the hell they are talking about.

Quote - "These animals breed three times a year and control of them is best done through a shot gun, however the Forestry Commission must take advice from experts beforehand."

Read the full article HERE

FACT - Wild boar have a gestation period of 120 days (or nearly 4 months). 

They suckle and then wean their young for a further 3 months.

So how the hell can a sow give birth 3 times a year? They will struggle with two. It is impossible!

These idiotic morons are comparing "wild living" wild boar to domestic pigs, which have their food supplied and their young taken away so they can breed again.

Also, in the wild, wild boar have limited offspring (ranging between 3 & 8) as unlike domestic pigs, which can have high numbers of offspring, wild boar have to find enough food to keep their little ones and themselves alive.

One councillor once said "put a ring through their noses, that will stop them rooting."

DOING THIS WILL STOP THEM FEEDING ALL TOGETHER. But perhaps this is what he wanted, for them all to starve to death?

This is why this "MASS" cull should be stopped and these idiots silenced and kicked out of office for animal cruelty!

And as for the anti-boar group called hogwatch (led and run by local people), they should be ashamed of themselves. ALL OF THEM! 

And before any of them ask, I was born a Forester and I have always lived in the heart of the Forest of Dean and always will.

Animal cruelty and wildlife persecution at the highest level. All responsible will be held accountable after this mindless and unwarranted slaughter.

Take a look below and then ask yourself why this animal is running scared and encroaching closer to residential areas?

• Hundreds of acres of forest felled over the last two years and this is habitat loss for this species as they prefer cover during the daytime. Cover, which has been taken from them
• Thousands of boar shot since they first arrived in the Forest of Dean through......
• Legal and illegal private land shoots
• Poaching
• Dozens killed in RTA's over the years

We also lose boar due to natural migration out of the Forest of Dean.

None of the above has been touched on at all by the people who want them dead, while this mass cull has been pushed through. 

Disgraceful that our councillors, the FC, MP Mark Harper and anti-boar group hogwatch have not given this one thought.

Shocking persecution over some overturned grass at the side over the road and scaremongering, which we see with so many of our wildlife species. The grass will grow back and it will cover up the dirt during the summer months, but this is not good enough for the people who want a perfectly manicured road verge, so they can park their car on it!!!

I truly hope that all involved in this horrific activity are pleased with themselves, but they will be tarnished with this for the rest of their lives.

Why do they think the FC is willing to shoot hundreds of boar? Because they are soon to become a self-funding body and as boar can fetch up to £300 per carcass, this will give their bank balance a massive boost.

400 boar with an average price of £200 per-animal = £80,000!!!

Below is a map, a simple, crude map of the Forest of Dean. Each red dot resembles 6 wild boar, totalling 864 boar.

A massive proportion of this area is now clearfell, so as you can see, if we have this many wild boar, they would be walking down every street in the county as like I mentioned earlier, they do not like open areas in the daytime.

The reality is that we have around 500 to 600 boar present at this time and if they take out 400 boar, this will leave us with between 100 and 200.

If we reduce their numbers this low, it could result in inbreeding, leading to a dirty gene pool, disease and birth defects.

This is FACT and this is the reality of what is happening in the Forest of Dean today. A dark cloud has descended over our county, caused by a minority (hogwatch) that handed a petition

of 2,000 signatures to the council, which is just 2% of the population.

Democracy? NO "persecution" from the FC, councillors, MP and hogwatch!

And Finally...........

The piglet below if from the sounder above. Less than a week after this photo was taken, she had died from starvation and a lack of her mothers milk!

I worked with Andy Rouse on a project for 2020Vision and we concentrated on this sounder. Andy wrote about it HERE

I did return and watched them slowly vanish, one by one as they died!

Rob 

Slow Down for Wild Boar and Deer

The leaves are changing colour, the fungi is looking magnificent, snakes are heading for hibernation and the fallow deer are rutting!
It may be cold and wet out there, but who can say this time of year is boring?

However, there a few things to be aware of! - During the months of October and November the fallow deer mate. This is called the rut and the bucks will patrol their territory, herding and protecting their doe's.
While walking you can hear them calling from their stands and if you are lucky, you can sometimes hear the clash of antlers as they engage in battle!



There has been some recent reports of dog and boar incidents in the forest and although none have been fatal, its still not nice to see a dog injured and the owners shook up.
The rut could be forcing the boars from the deeper parts, to the edges of the forest, and this is where they will come into contact with humans (and dogs) more frequently.
Please be alert at all times when walking in the forest and if you feel uneasy, keep your dog on a lead and close to you until you are in an area where you are sure you will not come across any boars.
Prevention is better than the cure!
Some boars get alarmed by the presence of dogs, especially if they have young nearby, and/or if the dog is barking. You can't stop your dog barking, but common sense "should" tell you to go another way if you spot them. Why take the risk?

Dogs should always be under control in our forest and only the other day, after someone told me that they were supposedly charged by a wild boar, I was faced with a comment from them saying "what if I was a child?"
My answer to this is simple - Forget the boars, I would be more concerned with all the dogs running around off lead. They pose a greater risk to children than any of our wildlife critters!

This time of year also poses a greater risk of collision with a deer (and now boar) while driving.
Poor light during the early morning and late evening is when you must be extra vigilant as both the boar and the deer move around considerably at this time.
Hitting one of these animals in your car, or on your motorbike can be devastating for all concerned!
The animal will almost certainly die, probably after a very long and excruciating time, but your car will also sustain untold damage and imagine a mature fallow deer buck smashing into your windscreen!
I don't have to explain what would happen if a motorcycle hit one of these animals...




There are too many incidents on our roads at this time of year, involving our wildlife, so please take it easy and look after yourself as well as our wildlife!

Rob

Wild Boar Cull

The Forestry Commission has issued a press release today. They are apparently struggling to keep the boar numbers down to their agreed level.

Just a thought, but the Commission (Kevin Stannard?) has estimated that the boar’s numbers need to be reduced from 300 to 90. Surely the revenue made from the culling of 210 wild boars would pay for extra manpower, which is being blamed for them falling short of their targets.
Do you think this cull is too high, or do their numbers need to be kept this low for safety and management purposes?
Your comments will be appreciated.

Click HERE for article.

Rob

More on the Wild Boar

Due to some of the comments below, I have decided to write some more, where the wild boars are concerned.



A few dogs have been injured and some have been killed since the boars arrived, but this has been with dogs off lead, approaching the boar.
The Forestry Commission are managing them, but this will never be enough for some and too much for others. Some want an outright cull because the boars don't fit in with their nanny state, while others want them left alone to breed out of control. Neither of the above is the right answer, the boars need to be managed to a healthy sustainable level and this will take a while to get right.

I can understand how a person must feel if they lose their dog to the wild boar and I can also understand the hatred, which must follow. However, as I have always said, the forest is home to thousands of wild animals that have “themselves” been terrorised by dogs, off lead, for decades.
Nobody gives a damn about this and the only reason why our wildlife is persecuted in the way that it is, is because they have no voice, they can't defend themselves. Well they couldn't until now that is!
There are certain people that see the forest as a playground for their dog. I have never seen it this way and it’s about time that these people started to respect the forest and see it for what it is. Home to our wildlife.

We should and always will be able to walk dogs in the forest, but if we choose to let them run wild, then the risk of injury and death of our pet is down to us. Its like taking your dog for a walk down the street on a lead away from the traffic, or letting it wander around off lead where it could run into the road and be killed by a car. Who is to blame, the dog, the car, or the owner?
Hundreds of dogs are killed by adders every year in the UK. This reptile is also hated by many and has also been persecuted in the past, but even though they are hated like the wild boar, they are protected and accepted. Why, because they have always been here.
People forget that the wild boars are a native species like the adder, but as they have been away for so long people are not prepared to accept them as it means they will have to change “their” ways to enable them to fit in. They are not prepared to do this, so this is why the wild boar will never be accepted.

Other countries live alongside far more dangerous animals than the wild boar and they manage. Why, because they have a healthy respect for them, something, which is sadly lacking in the Forest of Dean.

Your comments are always welcome. If you disagree with my views then please tell me as I am open to all sorts of constructive criticism.

Rob

Wild Boar - Latest - Newspaper Article

Below is a link to an on-line article I wrote for my local newspaper, regarding the wild boar.
The on-line edition will only be available for one week, so I have pasted the article below also, for future reading.
Your comments will be appreciated and please feel free to say what you want, without being insulting of course, as I value all opinions.

The article is on page 10.
http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?referral=other&refresh=4a0MW2y13k0Y&PBID=dc43da64-0fec-4776-a517-22780c4ae1fd&skip

________________________________________________

Ward’s Wild Life

Rob Ward has been photographing wildlife in the Forest for years. His views are based on that long experience.

Header: They’re just saying back off. End of story.

Sub-header: Can we co-exist in the Forest? Probably not!


SOME of the recent reports of charges and attacks by the boar just don’t quite add up and I would like to address this. I am not calling anyone a liar or disputing their concerns but this is now a very controversial animal and the whole facts need to be given, not exaggerated and they need to be precise.

Firtly, the recent report by the cyclists said that they were apparently charged by a male boar. They said that the boar started charging from about 30 yards away and that they had to pick up and carry their bikes to a fence and throw them over then obviously climb over the fence themselves.
I have seen wild boar run and believe me they are fast, getting up to speeds of 25mph in very short distances. If the two people on bikes were that close and if the boar really did charge them, they must have been on top of the fence or they must be Olympic-quality sprinters because if this was a charge, the boar would have reached them in seconds.
Secondly, the dog, which was butted at Boys Grave recently. If these boars wanted to hurt this dog, the husky would have either been gored or even killed. The boar butted him, this was the boars way of saying go away! This was not an ambush and, in my opinion, it certainly wasn’t an attack. The owner had the dog on a lead and was able to pull him away.
If wild boar hate all dogs and attack every time they see one, why didn’t they do it on this occasion? If they wanted to hurt that dog then they would have - end of.
Wild boar have approached me on numerous occasions in the past. On two separate occasions I have had a sow (with piglets) run towards me. Once I was on my own (I have it on video) and once with a friend, (I have pictures). So I can understand how it can be frightening for people who have not experienced it before. But remember, wild boar have poor eyesight. They can see you, but they need to get close to see exactly what you are.
They can only distinguish blue from the three primary colours and if they have dependant young, their first instinct is to protect and chase away a possible threat.
In my experiences as soon as they identify us as human they will stop and then move away with their young. Never, in more than 50 sightings have I ever been charged.
During the severe snow of January 2010, with a friend I tracked down a sounder of between eight and 10 wild boar. We were off the main path and it was very hard getting around with the amount of snow. We spotted them rooting under a group of trees after about 10 minutes of searching, so we decided to get as close as possible. With my video camera I moved to within 10 metres before one of them spotted us. Within seconds of seeing us they ran about three metres and then stopped, looked back and ran again, this time disappearing.
If you have a dog with you, then it is a different ball game. They don’t see a domesticated friendly dog, they see either a hunting dog or a wolf. Their natural instinct has taught them not to run from these animals but to stand and fight to protect themselves and their young. They are very good at it too.
Will an unprovoked wild boar charge and attack a human? Yes, I believe it is possible as they are wild animals and anything is possible, but looking at statistics from around the globe, it is extremely rare.
Hunters from other European countries have maimed wild boar with a poor shot and subsequently been attacked, sometimes even killed. However, this is a different scenario as the boar becomes a wounded animal which is capable of defending itself, so an attack is inevitable in these circumstances.
Can we co-exist with the wild boar in the Forest of Dean in the 21st century? No, probably not as history has a habit of repeating itself. Its only a matter of time before the wild boar are once again extinct from our forests and just a memory. Not hunted to extinction like they were in the 17th century, not chosen by nature, but eradicated through our intolerance of change and our inability to learn and adjust.

Rob