I DO not wish to enter into a discussion about whether or not Kevin Stannard' s comments on wild boar were misrepresented in The Forester, as he maintained they were. Whoever reported that young and pregnant sows were being killed by Rangers does need to come forward with more solid evidence than they have so far. I would still like to make the following observations on the plight of our wild boar:

1. The Forestry Commission admitted to me, by phone, that they do not know how many wild boar there are in the Forest. This means they are attempting to control something about which they have very little information.

2. In February, Kevin Stannard was reported in The Forester as saying that the wardens would fall short of their culling target of 150 wild boar, because the boar were difficult to find. He said he thought there were 200 – 250 wild boar in the Forest. If this were the case, he and his wardens would be finding them much more easily. I would contend that the population is quite low and that the 100 plus boar the Forestry Commission dispatched last year represents a large proportion of those actually in the Forest. Incidentally, the Forestry Commission told me they aim for 50/50 male and female kills. Some of these females would inevitably be pregnant sows.

3. I am told that contraceptives cannot be used, as the meat of sows thus injected could prove poisonous to humans. The simple answer to this is that humans should not be eating them. But we know there is a big poaching problem in the Forest, not as yet successfully addressed by the Forestry Commission.

4. This largely passive and friendly animal is being reduced to fugitive status. I was told by the Forestry Commission that they had been "dumped" from farms into the Forest. By the 16th century, in England and Wales, the wild boar was practically extinct through hunting and we now have the privilege of having these 'dumped' animals back in their wild state. They have, so far, not injured anyone, as far as I am aware.

5. The ongoing debate must include councillors, verderers and the public and the question of reducing the amount of animals culled by the rangers must be addressed. In my view, they should not be culled at all, though this may not be a majority view. At the HOOF demonstration in January, I was very taken with two banners carried by a family, with pictures of deer and wild boar and the slogan "It's our home too". Well, maybe it won't be for long.

6. I also contacted Defra, who told me that they leave the control of wild boar to local landlords. The Forestry Commission is that landlord and there is no external regulation for its culling methods. This needs to change.

I do feel that these gentle creatures are maybe being driven to a second extinction.

Joyce Moss

Lydney