What could possibly go wrong?

Pkiernan

https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/glimmer-of-light-wild-boars-believed-to-be-the-first-born-here-in-800-years-39184047.html

Only a matter of time before some of these escape. Just like the mink.

They'll do very well marauding Irish root crops.

It'll be fun to hunt them, but personally I think this is a big mistake.

Richard308

These are being farmed all over the country already. Just look at done deal. For sale there all the time. The uk has limited boar hunting and they’re wild there. They are kept well under control so far. One litter a year in the wild i think where as captive pigs have two n

Richard308

https://www.donedeal.ie/view/24331592

ganmo

three brown bears, three wolves, a linx, deer, foxes, swans, ducks and a number of Barbary macaque primates, who live on an island in the park.

Eek

cookimonster

Richard308 wrote: »

https://www.donedeal.ie/view/24331592

For my own interest, are they actual 'wild boar' or are they a breed of domesticated pig?

The American boar AFAIK is a feral pig, as is the Australians', while the New Zealand boar/pig is a mix of wild and feral.

kunekunesika

Usually difficult enough to tell. Domestic pigs are descended from wild boar. The strips on the bonhams backs are usually as good a confirmation as you can get that they are wild boar or very close to being wild boar. Wild or not wild, they should have a dirty big plastic herd number tag in their ear. Without the tag, they're ????

Richard308

cookimonster wrote: »

For my own interest, are they actual 'wild boar' or are they a breed of domesticated pig?

The American boar AFAIK is a feral pig, as is the Australians', while the New Zealand boar/pig is a mix of wild and feral.

Look at the piglets they have stripes and the bull pig has tusks.

Rows Grower

I can't for the life of me understand how this fella has conned the TV news and print news that these are the first born here since the 12th century, they must be just really desperate for a feelgood news story I suppose.

My understanding is you are licensed to rear and buy and sell these as part of having a pig herd number, there is a fella a couple of miles away from me that is a stickler for following proper procedures, he has an organic farm that he depends on for his livelihood and he breeds them and sells some of the young online every year. I was going to buy two off him a couple of years ago but he warned me they were fierce escape artists and I didn't need the stress of that with all the tourist buses passing the end of our lane on a daily basis I would have never slept

There are loads of confirmed cases of them being seen and even shot in the wild here and there are other organic farms here that specialise in them and supply the meat to shops and restaurants.

Grizzly 45

Nope,they are a nice little litter of European wild boar[Scrous Scroufa].They have one litter a year,but can have 12 plus in a litter,and are sexually mature within 6 or 8 months?Both boar and sows in the wild have tusks,as would domestic hogs,if they arent clipped within a few weeks of birth. They are excellent mothers,and wont think twice of defending their young,as many a German dog walker,forester and hunter and city slicker has found out.
Bush pigs and wild hogs in Aus and the US are feral pigs,now X generations living in the wild.

Grizzly 45

Richard308 wrote: »

https://www.donedeal.ie/view/24331592

They look more like Tamworths than European wild boar.The body shape is too big.but maybe they have made pigs of themselves being reared in captivity?:)

Rows Grower

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

They look more like Tamworths than European wild boar.The body shape is too big.but maybe they have made pigs of themselves being reared in captivity?:)

No way they are Tamworths, look at the coat on them.

Grizzly 45

A Euro WB has a much denser coat,and is more grey /silver/light brown.Those lads look too red. The giveaway would be actually...The smell..EWB smell remarkably of liquorice sweets for some reason if they live in the wild.

cookimonster

Richard308 wrote: »

Look at the piglets they have stripes and the bull pig has tusks.

Dohhh, I had a Homer moment, never seen the other pictures.
The stripers are definitely 'wild boar' like as is the boar itself.
I'm not that up on them, but they look a little bit too neat compared to what I've seen in the flesh.

Rows Grower

It looks very like the tough hairy coat of a wild boar, I've been using one as a mat for about 10 years. I've got a spare one too if anyone wants to buy it.

Grizzly 45

Been hunting them since I was 10. Respectable looking pig...Polish?

cookimonster

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Been hunting them since I was 10. Respectable looking pig...Polish?

The top picture with the dog is from the Spanish side of the Pyrenees and the other lad is from Gascony France.

Rows Grower

cookimonster wrote: »

The top picture with the dog is from the Spanish side of the Pyrenees and the other lad is from Gascony France.

Do you know what they weighed? They look very big.

cookimonster

Rows Grower wrote: »

Do you know what they weighed? They look very big.

The Spanish one is going back a few years. The French one was only shot last week, they've been given the go ahead to do pest control on them as required by the land owner. I'll try and find out.

Rows Grower

cookimonster wrote: »

The Spanish one is going back a few years. The French one was only shot last week, they've been given the go ahead to do pest control on them as required by the land owner. I'll try and find out.

I'm gonna guess 115kg on the French lad.

Grizzly 45

I meant actually Rows Growers boar skin that he had for sale.
But the two boars of yours Cookie .Say the French lad is about 60/80kgs ,and the Spanish fellah in or about the same. Going by the tusks on the Spanish was youngish?About 1to 2 years?

cookimonster

Rows Grower wrote: »

I'm gonna guess 115kg on the French lad.

Right its just in, my mate reckons 'about 70Kg'...

Either way it they are never light to drag out (the Spainish one)



Posing for photos, actually trying to catch my breath, breathing through every hole...



a trophy for at home...



This lad was dropped by a 12g slug by the gentleman dressing him in the picture. This was a big boar as far as I can recall.

foxy farmer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeGyVrcS9eo

Rows Grower

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

I meant actually Rows Growers boar skin that he had for sale.
But the two boars of yours Cookie .Say the French lad is about 60/80kgs ,and the Spanish fellah in or about the same. Going by the tusks on the Spanish was youngish?About 1to 2 years?

I thought you meant cookiemonster ones as well Grizzly, the rug I have came off an animal reared very close to where I live, as in under a mile.

Effects

Can we be sure this isn't just a tactic to get assault weapons legalised here?

https://www.wired.com/story/feral-hogs-meme/

Rows Grower

cookimonster wrote: »

Right its just in, my mate reckons 'about 70Kg'...

Either way it they are never light to drag out (the Spainish one)



Posing for photos, actually trying to catch my breath, breathing through every hole...



a trophy for at home...



This lad was dropped by a 12g slug by the gentleman dressing him in the picture. This was a big boar as far as I can recall.

Jayz I thought it looked a lot bigger than that but it all depends on the picture and if there is anything to compare it to in it.

A friend of mine was in Lithuania a few months ago and shot one 140kg, he also had a 227kg red stag on the same short trip. He sent me on some pictures and they are massive but I wouldn't throw them up here as he's a kind of private fella who's not into computers but would be fairly well known at the same time.

Wouldn't be surprised if a couple of lads on here would know who I'm on about just from the info I've given.

Grizzly 45

Thats an intresting way of displaying the tusks too by doing a full skull mount.The Germans and easterners,just mount the tusks on a small wall plate.

cookimonster

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Thats an intresting way of displaying the tusks too by doing a full skull mount.The Germans and easterners,just mount the tusks on a small wall plate.

The French lads do the same, small shield like plaque.

cookimonster

Rows Grower wrote: »

......A friend of mine was in Lithuania a few months ago and shot one 140kg, he also had a 227kg red stag on the same short....

This lad was taken by the guy on the right in France. I don't know his weight, but Ive seen monsters over there, unfortunately they weren't on the cull.

Rows Grower

cookimonster wrote: »

This lad was taken by the guy on the right in France. I don't know his weight, but Ive seen monsters over there, unfortunately they weren't on the cull.

Almost identical looking to the one my friend got in Lituania, biggest difference I can see is the two antlers on the brow of his one are noticeably more curved.

Send me on your email there and I'll forward on the pictures to you.

Birdnuts

Theres an ongoing debate among experts about whether Wild Boar were ever native to this island ie. did they reach here after the last ice-age before Ireland was cut-off from the UK?? The problem is that primitive pig breed bones are very simlar to Wild Boar which makes a definitive answer difficult when studying remains from thousands of years ago. In any case it would not be wise to bring them back in the absense of their natural predators such as wolves etc. given their impact on tillage farming and their ability to reproduce at a near rabbit like rate!!

PS: Having said all that I had Wildboar with local organic apple sauce on a trip to the Dordogne a couple of years ago and it was simply divine!!:D

Rows Grower

My son has assured me he blocked out my friends face, hope this works.. lol..

Grizzly 45

Well us apex predators.[IE Man ]would do a pretty good job of controlling them.But the problem would be,they wont stay in the country.They'll move into surburbia where there is a plentiful food supply,in gardens,parks,skips,bins etc. Same as foxes do , or Grizzlies or Polar bears do in the Northern parts odf America ,any wild animal will go and find a good food supply to save it's energy. Berlin and Germany in general has now a huge problem with maraudering swine in surburbia,not even on the damage to gardens and veg plots,but car accidents as well.
And as we dont have any native oak forests to provide a huge amount of acorns,wild boars staple diet in the wild.
You can be assured the hue& cry once someones lawn and bins have been uprooted continously in D4ville will ensure their speedy demise.

DogfoxCork

dont see an issue in it if theyre managed.

Double Barrel

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

A Euro WB has a much denser coat,and is more grey /silver/light brown.Those lads look too red. The giveaway would be actually...The smell..EWB smell remarkably of liquorice sweets for some reason if they live in the wild.

Hey Griz liquorice root is a large part of their diet ... but pigs are never on a diet. :pac:;):rolleyes:

Mellor

cookimonster wrote: »

The American boar AFAIK is a feral pig, as is the Australians', while the New Zealand boar/pig is a mix of wild and feral.

Aus and NZ are both Hybrids. European settlers introduced boar to hunt. As well as pigs escaping.
It's not clear the extent of boar in the mix. Same species, after all. Could well be higher in NZ.

Richard308 wrote: »

Look at the piglets they have stripes and the bull pig has tusks.

Normal pigs will have tusk and full coats very quickly in the wild.
Pigs are domesticated boar after all. The only difference is the smaller gene pool due to 1000s of years of farming.