Beechenhurst Six believed to have survived Forest of Dean wild boar cull
BOAR culling in the Forest of Dean has ended for now and it looks like the infamous 'Beechenhurst Six' have survived.
Forestry Commission rangers have shot 79 wild boar since September and a further 23 have been hit by cars and died in the same time frame.
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Wild boar - picture by Mark Betts
The commission set a target of 100 boar to cull by this month and they will now turn their attentions to reassessing the total number of the animals – a difficult task that has been the subject of huge debate.
The Beechenhurst Six, a family of boar spotted regularly around Beechenhurst, made national headlines last year when it emerged they would no longer be exempt from the cull. They are a big draw for tourists.
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But Ian Harvey, chief wildlife ranger for the Forestry Commission, said: "I saw a group of six boar on Wednesday, just the other side of the road from Beechenhurst and we get very regular sightings from around Cannop and that area. Once they go back into the depths of the Forest it's impossible to tell one individual boar from another so I can't be absolutely certain.
"But if it's not the original Beechenhurst Six, it's a Beechenhurst Six."
He added: "We are still getting people complaining about the damage boar do, a lot of which will be hidden by the snow at the moment."
Homeowners have found their lawns torn up by boar digging for food and a smilar fate has befallen village greens.
Wildlife campaigners have long been calling for the Forestry Commission to revisit its Wild Boar strategy and for the animals to be better managed.
Forester Scott Passmore, from the UK Wild Boar Trust, formerly Friends of the Boar, said the number of boar sightings (submitted at www.ukwildboartrust.org) had "significantly decreased" since September.
"We hope now that the cull has finished the boar will be allowed to return to where they feel safe, the centre of the Forest, and the number of complaints about their rooting will also decrease until the cull begins again. Unfortunately, while management of the boar is sometimes necessary, the sound of rifles firing off will drive animals out of the woods into urban areas and cause unwanted negative interactions."
5 Comments
by emseaell
Sunday, February 03 2013, 4:12PM
“jonno2010 perhaps they'll serve them up at the Butchars (your spelling in another comment) Arms”
by Zindafud
Thursday, January 31 2013, 9:17AM
“I'm far more worried about the scum who are out poaching these animals with small bore rifles and shotguns.
At least the legal cull is controlled.”
by Farmers_Boy
Thursday, January 31 2013, 8:41AM
“Leave them alone its good to see the wild life in the Forest.People in this country give money to save animals over seas.Keep on breeding piggys !!”
by FriendsotBoar
Monday, January 28 2013, 5:30PM
“UKWBT have put in a FOI request to the Forestry Commission, supported by VIVA UK, and eagerly await the cull statistics. While the boar sighting submissions on http://tinyurl.com/axe6whs have significantly decreased since September 2012, at this stage we have no reason to believe the Forest of Dean Forestry Commission have culled any more than what they promised back in 2012, i.e. 100 boar.
For more info, a copy of our Wild Boar Datasheet or if you see a boar please email info@ukwildboartrust.org or visit http://tinyurl.com/axe6whs”
by jonno2010
Monday, January 28 2013, 1:09PM
“Its about time the Forestry Commission got its act together and cull them all .”