Transcripts
You will hear a lecture about the situation of wild animals, especially wild boar.
Good morning.
My name’s Jim Robinson and today we’re going to look at the control of wild animals, specifically wild boar.
Now, boar have been natural inhabitants of Western Europe for thousands of years, but in recent years, there has been a surge in boar activity that poses real threat.
Boars are not currently on the protected animals list, which is perhaps why there has been a spike in their breeding activity.
Boars are an indigenous species and are particularly plentiful in rural France and the Bavarian uplands of Germany.
Boar hunting is a European tradition that goes back to Roman times and became particularly popular among courtiers during the Middle Ages.
Even during the 20th century, boar hunting was seen as an integral part of rural life.
The decline in boar hunting has obviously led to a rise in the boar populations of Europe, and the situation has reached a critical point, with boar posing a critical threat to the environment.
Proponents of boar hunting cite this factor as a major reason why boar populations should be contained.
Boar also pose a threat to humans too, with countless reports of people being injured during boar attacks.
The origins of the wild boar have roots in Germanic, and this perhaps explains their prevalence in Germany.
The problems with the boar population in Germany have ramifications for the rest of Europe, as boar packs migrate towards Central and Eastern Europe.
One of the main issues that is of great concern is the transmission of diseases that infect other species.
Dairy farmers in France are particularly concerned, as many of them have seen their herds depleted by infections.
The methods for containing boar populations have been looked at in great detail and numerous options are available.
One is to encourage more boar hunting in wild regions such as mountains and forests.
Hunters would be given licenses to hunt, either for food or sport.
Of course, boar do pose a threat to human life, so this possibility must be looked at with caution.
One method that must be ruled out is poison, as legislation has been introduced prohibiting this.
Such methods were tried with rabbits in the 1960s, and this had a disastrous impact on the food chain.
The introduction of natural predators into the ecosystem is also an option that can’t be considered.
The only known predators of boar in the world are wild cats, like lions and tigers.
Obviously there’s no way such animals can be allowed to roam the mountains and forests of Europe.
Given the threat that boars pose to humans, it is imperative that forest-dwelling boar are kept well away from people and cities.
This is absolutely essential as human safety must be the main priority of policymakers.
By the 11th century, boars in several European countries were becoming increasingly rare in Great Britain.
King Charles attempted to reintroduce boars in the New Forest area of the country.
Yet the entire population was almost wiped out during the battles of the English Civil War, when roaming soldiers hunted them for food.
During the 1980s, wild boar rearing was encouraged and boar populations began to rise again.
By the 1990s, there was a huge rise in the number of boar across England.
Due in large part to the species no longer forced to live in captivity, many boar have broken free from farms across England and are breeding at a rapid rate.
Aside from their environmental threats, boars also pose a problem for farmers growing crops and vegetables.
Other species such as red deer are a threat to farm produce like grain and potatoes, but boars certainly present the most serious risk.
The damage done to the farming industry is estimated to cost millions of pounds, and insurance payments as a result of this have spiked in the last decade.
Red deer are predominantly confined to forest areas, and it is unusual to see them outside their habitats during the summer months.
However, as the weather gets colder, they can be seen looking for food around local villages and fields.
Red deer have their origins in Asia and are ruminant species, which means they have a stomach that consists of four compartments, much like cows.
They are slaughtered for food and their meat is sold as venison and is increasingly popular among consumers.
There are nine subspecies of red deer, with three of them on the endangered species list.
The deer population doesn’t pose the same threat as the boar population, but it certainly needs to be addressed.
Forest areas are their main habitats and they are now breeding at a much higher rate than in previous years.
Of course, deer are an important part of the food chain and are an important part of the hunting traditions of the UK, so it is important that their population is kept stable for this reason.
Though the real concern is the problems that deer present for farmers who have seen their crops suffer in devastating ways.
Protection needs to be offered, and many farmers report building large perimeter fences around their fields to keep deer out, which costs them a huge amount of money.
Government funding is so far inadequate to offer the protection farmers need, but ways are being looked at to provide subsidies through other means.
