A pig belonging to Princess Anne has been killed by a roaming boar after it got on to her Gatcombe Park estate. It is believed that the boar had escaped from a nearby farm rather than it being a wild boar from the Forest of Dean, as originally thought.
The Princess Royal told a farming conference that a boar had found its way on to her Gatcombe Estate on Tuesday and that her “Gloucester Old Spot boar is no longer with us as a result.” Princess Anne has kept pigs at her estate in Gloucestershire for many years.
Anne continued to the conference, “So far, we haven’t found the origins of this particular invader and I’m hoping I’m not going to see him again for a bit. But you never quite know where your challenges are going to come from, do you?”
Although it is thought that the boar is not from the Forest of Dean, it is believed that the boar could have escaped from a farm several years ago. Scott Passmore of A Wild Life with Animals spoke of the incident at Gatcombe and another incident involving a boar which killed a man on the M4, “With the sad incident on the M4 and at Gatcombe, I would e very surprised if they came from the Forest of Dean. They would have to swim the River Severn or cross a bridge, and make it through Gloucestershire without being shot by a farmer. It’s very unlikely.”
There is a large population of wild boars in the Forest of Dean, which is 17 miles away from Gatcombe Park.
The pig which Princess Anne lost was a Gloucestershire Old Spot, a breed of pig that is listed as a minority breed on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust watch list, with only 500-1000 breeding females believed to be in the country.
Featured Photo Credit: Mark Hakansson
Here in the USA we have what’s become a very serious problems with feral hogs that are destroying crops as well as attacking pets and farm animals. Overnight they can completely ruin the livelihoods of families whose only income is derived from a season’s planting. Some of the bolder ones are even charging at people, and many have been seriously injured.
They’re very prolific breeders and can grow to shocking sizes; it’s not unusual to see pictures of hogs so big that they can only be lifted by large construction equipment.
They travel about in large packs and eat everything they come across, and so far nothing that’s been tried has had any significant impact on their numbers and the damage they do. I hope nothing like this is happening in Britain.