"Monmouthshire"
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8th December 2004
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| DATE: | ANIMAL: | LOCATION: |
| 2nd December 2004 | WILD BOAR | Gwent |
Gwent
WILD BOAR
A herd of wild boar is said to have chased a horse rider
and her two dogs in woodland near Monmouth, then dug up part of her field.
Carla Edmonds was riding in High Meadow Woods, near the village of Staunton, Glos, which was recently invaded by a dozen wild boar.
She said: “I was riding along one of the paths in the forest, about 100 yards or so from the main road, and I saw a group of 20 or more. At first I couldn’t quite make out what they were, but then I could see they looked like pigs.”
The herd
gave chase when her dogs started barking, and her horse became agitated.
“I could see them charging at a huge pace,” she said. ”My
horse was seriously spooked, but I was able to control him, but a less experienced
rider could have had a terrible accident.”
On Wednesday evening an adult boar and two piglets dug up part of Ms Edmonds land. Her partner Malcolm Galloway saw the animals while out walking the dogs. He went to fetch a camera but the boar had retreated to the woods by the time he returned.
The boars had rotavated about 100 sq ft of the field, but Mr Galloway described the encounter as “brilliant”. He said: “Any damage they are doing can be repaired. If they were coming up to the house and ripping into the bins, I’d feel differently – but we are invading their space rather than them invading ours.”
“I don’t think they’re dangerous. I think they are more nervous of people than people are of them ...obviously, if they were cornered, then it might be different.”
Ms Edmonds said “if they had very young with them, then they’d be more dangerous...it was amazing – we’d love to see them again.”
Phil Glanville of Monmouthshire Trading Standards Department, said: “The local authority is making enquiries to try to find out where the wild boar have come from.”
(Sources: BBC News 29th November 2004, BBC News 2nd December 2004)
Contributed & Written by: Lisa Willow
File:
Ref
No: 1944
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