Feral pigs spotted roaming Cairngorms National Park caught and culled
Feral pigs spotted on the loose in the Cairngorms National Park have been captured and humanely culled, Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) has said.The animals were seen near Uath Lochans, an area of woodland and small lochs near Kingussie, south of Aviemore, on Monday.The Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) said earlier this week the pigs were "relatively domesticated" and appeared to have been illegally abandoned.The group of eight animals was initially spotted about five miles away from where four lynx were dumped in the park before later being caught.
The park authority was working with public agency FLS to catch the pigs.FLS said the animals were classed as a non-native species and illegally released.A spokesperson said: "All land managers are acutely aware of the issues caused by localised populations of feral pigs in other parts of Scotland and current Scottish government guidance encourages land managers to control feral pig numbers to manage their impacts on agriculture and the environment."In light of these considerations the animals were captured, moved to an FLS location and, with the further expert advice of veterinarians and of Police Scotland, have now been humanely culled."Scottish Land and Estates (SLE), which supports rural businesses, condemned the "reckless" release, and encouraged anyone with information to contact police.Earlier this week Ross Ewing, director of moorland at SLE, said: "This appears to be a reckless and illegal act which demonstrates a total disregard for both animal welfare and the wider environment."We saw the tragic consequences of last month's illegal lynx release, which resulted in the death of one of the animals."Those responsible for these incidents show little concern for the welfare of the species they release or the serious impacts they could have."
Wild boar are a native species to Scotland, but were hunted to extinction about 700 years ago.Over about the last 10 years, populations of free-roaming pigs have become established in Dumfries and Galloway and the Highlands.Scotland's nature agency NatureScot refers to these animals as feral pigs, and said they include hybrids - a mix of boar and domestic pigs following interbreeding.The populations include animals that have escaped from farms or been illegally released into the wild.Scotland is thought to have a few thousand free-roaming feral pigs.
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