George Digweed: driven British boar hunting and fox

It's just before the start of the 2012 pheasant shooting season and George's cover crops are being destroyed. Boar are back in the area and hitting the maize. He's got to move them off the ground in Sussex or risk ruining the shoot. We join him as he tries to drive the crop through then lamp them taking out some decent foxes for good measure.

This film was first shown in Fieldsports Britain episode 167. To watch the whole show go to http://Fcha.nl/fieldsportsbritain167

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Why shoot wild boar?
Wild boar were once native to Great Britain but became extinct more than 300 years ago. Following escapes or deliberate releases from wild boar farms from the 1980s, they have now established breeding populations in the wild including Kent and East Sussex in the South-East of England, Dorset, Devon and the Forest of Dean in the South-West, and parts of Scotland. DEFRA estimates the current population at around 500 in the established colonies. Local wildlife managers estimate it at nearer 5,000.
Wild boar are omnivorous and approximately 400 species of plants and animals have been reported to be part of their diet. Their habit of rooting through the floor of woodland and pasture leaves a clear indicator of their presence. They will take both eggs and nestlings of ground-nesting birds and can damage crops, gamebird release pens and game feeders. Damage to agriculture can also be extensive and concerns have been raised regarding collisions with traffic. Boar have no natural predators in the UK meaning culls are necessary to control population growth.
Wild boar are susceptible to the same diseases as domestic pigs and therefore have the potential to spread infectious disease such as swine fever, foot & mouth and Aujesky’s disease (Gow, 2002; Natural England, 2007).
To read the DEFRA wild boar action plan, visit http://www.britishpigs.org.uk/feralwi...

Why shoot foxes?
The British red fox is widespread across the whole of mainland Britain and Ireland. The best estimate of the current British fox population is 240,000 adults in spring, to which a production of 425,000 cubs is added annually. The fox has no natural predator and for the population to remain stable, 425,000 foxes must therefore die each year.
Fox numbers need to be managed and controlled to prevent the predation of lambs, piglets reared outdoors, free range and domestic poultry. Foxes can also have a significant impact on vulnerable species of ground nesting birds such as black grouse, partridge, lapwing and curlew (Bealey, Green, Robson, Taylor & Winspear, 1999).
In order to protect such species while they are breeding, conservators and gamekeepers aim to control fox numbers, particularly from late winter to early summer. Foxes are also controlled around pheasant and partridge rearing and release pens in late summer and autumn. Overall, the direct cost to UK agriculture from fox predation has been estimated at £12 million annually (UK Government figures)