| A 'boar war' has erupted over whether
the wild hairy pig is an Irish native or foreign invader.
The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT)
has strenuously objected to the wild boar being officially
classified by a government body as an "invasive species".
The move came after State wildlife chiefs declared war on
the boar following a number of sightings in wooded areas.
Invasive
Species Ireland, a project backed by the state's National
Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS ), lists wild boar as one
of its "most unwanted" invasive species because they "damage
crops, gardens, amenity areas as well as potentially spreading
disease".
Wild boars are known to carry TB, foot and mouth, swine
flu and the blue tongue virus.
However, the animal is not completely alien - they lived
in Ireland until prehistoric times, but were driven to extinction
as humans hunted them or cut down their forest habitats.
They are now making something of a comeback with 12 boars
spotted in woodlands recently. Last month a wild boar was
reported to have been trapped and killed in the Slieve Bloom
Mountains.
The boars were believed to have been illegally released
into the wild by shooters.
However, the IWT said boars were not invasive and were "a
keystone species in forest ecosystems".
"Their rooting activity creates a disturbance regime that
increases plant diversity and aids tree regeneration," it
added.
"For these reasons, the Irish Wildlife Trust objects to
the current classification of wild boar as an invasive species
by Invasive Species Ireland.
|
