Forest of Dean vandal 'a boar' for residents

25/12/2008

Residents in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire have bemoaned the continuing harassment of wild boar in the area, the Independent has reported.

According to the paper, the once-exotic and rare creature has become a common nuisance in the area and has repeatedly broken into residents' gardens and done extensive damage.

The manager of the local football team also expressed his dismay after learning that a "sounder" (the collective noun for the animal) of boars has ravaged the newly laid pitch with their sharp tusks.

"The situation there is pretty horrendous and we want to know what lessons have been learnt to stop it happening here," said Terry Hale, chairman of the community security committee at Forest of Dean.

Erecting wrought iron gates and fences may be one way to keep the animals out of gardens.

Wild boar have become increasingly common in the south of the UK after they were accidentally reintroduced to the wild in the 1980s after successfully escaping from breeding farms.