For the first time in half a millennium, our woods are resounding to the snorts and grunts of wild boar – but what, wonders Kate Langrish, are the implications for forest owners? 

If you go down to the woods today you may be in for a surprise – a six-foot long, 200kg, tusked surprise to be more precise. Nobody knows just how many there are or exactly where they are living, but after centuries of absence, wild boar are once more roaming Britain’s woodlands.

A combination of habitat loss and hunting led to their extinction in the UK around 500 years ago, but there are now breeding colonies across the country and estimates of numbers vary from hundreds to thousands. While this remarkable comeback has received a warm reception from many environmental and ecological quarters, farmers and landowners have expressed concerns, with some even calling for a widespread cull. So what does the return of this bristly-bodied creature mean for woodland owners?

A bad press

Newspapers have been littered with stories of wild boar sightings, with terrifying accounts of dog walkers and horse riders being pursued by angry herds through the countryside. “It’s certainly true that the sight of a wild boar crossing your path will scare the hell out of anyone walking through a wood, but they are very unlikely to actually attack you,” explains former DEFRA scientist and wild boar expert Dr Martin Goulding. “But, as with any wild animal, there’s always an element of unpredictability – and they can cause a problem for people out walking dogs or riding, particularly in the spring when the sows are protective over the piglets.”

While glimpses of gleaming eyes in the undergrowth make for good headlines, the real objection to the wild boar’s return comes from farming quarters. With their powerful snouts, wild boar are well equipped to churn up large areas of land in search of food.
“They are creatures of the woodland but they will survive in a diverse array of habitats. They will often hide in woodland during the day, and then romp around the adjacent land at night looking for food,” explains Dr Goulding. When food is in short supply in the woods, then neighbouring fields of arable crops are a tempting prospect to hungry boar. They can destroy fences in minutes and, unlike most of their European counterparts, British farmers are not compensated for this damage. The wild swine may also break in and breed with domestic pigs, causing farmers to lose money as they can’t sell the cross-bred piglets.

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