‘We don’t need hysteria’: Call for ‘perspective’ over wild boar fears

PERSPECTIVE is needed when it comes to speculations about the dangers posed by wild boar in Scotland, an expert has said. Last week, residents near Loch Ness called on the Scottish Government to cull the animals over concerns they were killing sheep and could potentially attack a human.

However, wild boar expert Chantal Lyons called for “perspective” and said decisions on how the control the animals needed to be led by evidence.

Where did they come from?

WILD boar are native to Scotland but were hunted to extinction around 300 years ago.

In the early 2000s, reports began to emerge of wild boar sightings in numerous areas around the country.

It’s believed that escapees from farms and estates, which kept the animals for meat or hunting, have been interbreeding with feral pigs.

This has resulted in numerous populations of the hybrid swine establishing themselves in areas such as the Great Glen in the Highlands and parts of Dumfries and Galloway.

Currently, there is no exact figure on how many there are roaming wild in Scotland but previous estimates suggest there could be as many as 5000.

What’s the problem?

FARMERS in the Great Glen say that wild boar have been damaging arable land, killing sheep, and causing fear among the local population.

In response, the Scottish Government has said responsibility for controlling the animals lies with individual landowners, with Forestry and Land Scotland killing more than 80 boar in the Great Glen since 2016.

“It only takes a handful of boar a single night to do a lot of damage to a pasture,” said Lyons, who spent two years studying the 900-strong wild boar population in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire for her new book Groundbreakers.

“They can definitely have financial consequences for landowners.

“However, you can argue that it’s one of the trade-offs we need to deal with to have this important species back in our ecosystems.”

The rooting behaviour of wild boar has been shown to enhance soil fertility and their effectiveness at spreading seeds and spores across landscapes helps with the regeneration of woodlands.

Lyons added: “They also create wallows – something that’s been missing from our landscape for centuries since wild boar went extinct.”

Do wild boar pose a threat to sheep?

SINCE their return to Scotland’s landscapes, numerous farmers have accused wild boar of predating upon their livestock – in particular, sheep.

However, Lyons said that confirmed cases of wild boar killing sheep were rare.

“I really don’t want to dismiss it out of hand,” she said.

“Denials that white-tailed eagles were predating on lambs and not just scavenging upon them added fuel to the fire and caused tension in the wake of their reintroduction.

“Of course, wild boar mainly eat plants but they are omnivorous and opportunistic. They’ll take a free lunch and scavenge on carrion.

“Still, these animals aren’t