| Curtain Cider 2008-02-22, 9:25 am |
| Looney DEFRA have decided to put the fate of our wild boar (not to be
confused with our wild bore Steve Firth) in the hands of the farmers
who want GM crops, no weeds, no foxes, no birds, no badgers and no
people!
Farmers to decide on wild boar controls
By Paul Eccleston
Last Updated: 1:01pm GMT 21/02/2008
http://tinyurl.com/2eexzn
Farmers and rural communities will have to decide for themselves
whether they want wild boar living on their land.
The Var - boar hunter's paradise
The government has drawn up an action plan to help local people to
either manage growing numbers of wild boar or get rid of them.
An estimated 500-1,000 wild boar live across Britain
The wild boar died out in England 300 years ago but escapes and
releases from farms have helped it become re-established in isolated
pockets.
There are thought to be between 500-1,000 animals living mainly in
three populations on the Kent/Sussex border, the Forest of Dean and in
west Dorset.
Announcing the first policy and action plan to help local communities
manage feral wild boar populations the Minister for Biodiversity, Joan
Ruddock, said: "It is important that communities and land owners are
allowed to decide the future of their wild boar populations based on
their local situation. The Government's support will help them make
the right decisions for where they live.
"We will continue to look at the effect of feral wild boar on the
environment, and will review our action plan in three years to ensure
it is working."
The action plan will provide:
Technical advice on how feral wild boar should be managed such as the
type of firearms used for their control, and to ensure appropriate
security at wild boar farms to prevent captive wild boar from
escaping.
Guidance for farmers and landowners to quickly identify disease in
wild boar and livestock.
Food and hygiene standards that need to be met if feral wild boar that
are shot then enter the food chain.
Land managed by Defra to be in line with the action plan.
Two studies set up by Defra concluded that so far wild boar are too
few to pose a national threat to the environment, farming or public
safety.
advertisementThere are no specific legal restrictions governing how
wild boar can be controlled but with boars weighing over 350lbs traps
are not recommended unless they are set and monitored by experts.
Shooting is the recommended control measure but Police Firearms
Licensing Branches require that wild boar are specifically listed on
an individual's firearms certificate (FAC) before they may use a rifle
to shoot wild boar.
FAC will normally only be endorsed to include wild boar if the rifle
held is of .270 calibre or larger and will normally only be added to a
FAC if the holder has authority to shoot on land within an area known
to contain wild boar.
Natural England, which has responsibility to conserve wildlife, says
wild boar, as a former native species, could have a role in the
natural environment and should be managed regionally and sustainably.
But where they pose a threat through disease or where their impact is
unacceptable they should be removed.
A Defra spokesman said: " Because populations are so small we have
decided it would not be appropriate for us to say they should be
killed. That is a decision to be taken locally by communities or
farmers."
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