There m ay be tr uffle ahead
It’s feared that the animal’s snouts may harbour the
deadly bugs. wiped out in Scotland in the 17th Century but flourished again after some escaped from a farm in Lochaber.
More have since been deliberately reintroduced to keep down bracken and there are now populations in Dumfriesshire and Ayrshire.
They also roam the Alladale Estate, Ross-shire, where millionaire owner Paul Lister wants to “re-wild” the land with lynx and wolves.
Wild boar tend to be shy, nocturnal creatures but will often venture into domestic gardens and fields of crops to forage.
A report for the British Association of Nature Conservationists called for a census of feral pigs to gauge how fast they’re spreading.
It said: “Unless there is a radical change in public attitudes and government policy, they will continue to live in the wild.”
Last night, boar expert Matthew Jones said: “It would be a shame if this discovery were to lead to the vilification of one animal.
“There are millions of deer in the UK – they carry tuberculosis and all sorts of diseases, but we live alongside them without hysteria.
“Since bears and wolves no longer exist here, wild boar have no natural predators so the population has to be sensibly managed. But they are a nice addition to the countryside and would be missed if forced in to extinction again.”