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Boar hunting is to return to pockets of English woodland in an attempt to keep down their numbers.

A selective cull was sanctioned yesterday, 400 years after the last native wild boar reputedly met its end on the hunting lance of King James I.

The animals, however, are destined for the dinner plate, with butchers and restaurateurs reporting a growing demand for the wild game meat. They are breeding rapidly, particularly in Kent, East Sussex, West Dorset, the Forest of Dean, the fringes of Dartmoor and other parts of Devon.

Joan Ruddock, the Biodiversity Minister, said that local communities and landowners should decide the numbers that need to be shot. Without a cull, she said, wild boar might become established throughout England.

In general, they pose little threat to walkers and do not attack children. They can, however, be dangerous if a sow believes that her piglets are threatened.

Farmers fear that wild boar spread diseases such as foot and mouth and Classical Swine Fever (CSF).

It is estimated that there are no more than 1,000 wild boar. Countryside sports enthusiasts, however, say there may be as many as 5,000. Boar have been spotted during pheasant shoots in locations such as East Somerset, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire – areas that the Government says are clear of boar.

A colony in the South East of England, which grew up after the escape of 15 boars from farms during the 1987 and 1989 storms, has grown to 200, according to wildlife officials. Farmers say that the figure is at least 400.

In public woods such as the Forest of Dean, the hunting of boar is inappropriate because of the threat to public safety. Instead, rangers from the Forestry Commission will be responsible for tracking and shooting the animals.

Some boar hunting or stalking is already taking place on private land. Shooting experts believe that farmers will start to charge individuals to hunt on their land.

Three years after the ban on hunting with hounds in England and Wales, boar hunting will help to boost the rural economy. Charlie Jacoby, the editor of Sporting Rifleman, said he believed that boar hunting would take off.

Prime cuts of wild boar are used for roasts and casseroles and the rest is made into sausages and burgers. Shooters can expect to receive about 70p-80p for 450g (1lb) of the meat, which is then sold for up to £3.

The Food Standards Agency is preparing advice on how the meat should be handled to ensure that it is safe to eat.

Many British shooters who are licensed to use a .270 calibre rifle are already paying up to £2,500 for a week’s boar hunting on the Continent.

The secret wanderer

— Wild boar are dark brown, though piglets have pale stripes. They live for up to ten years in dense woodland, very often near farms

— They are secretive, mainly nocturnal creatures, but will travel up to six miles a day

— An adult two-year-old boar will usually weigh more than 100kg (220lb)

— They eat anything: roots, bulbs, crops, dead animals, insects, grasses

— They have a distinctive, peppery smell that hangs in the air if they are present

— No licence is required to hunt boar in Britain. The British Association for Shooting and Conservation recommends using a minimum .270 calibre rifle and advises marksmen to aim for the heart and lungs

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