Red, Green, and Blue

Two stories reveal the complex relationship between predators, people and the environment on opposite sides of the Atlantic this week.  A wildlife trust is campaigning to have boar released into the wild, after triplets were born to a couple of wild pigs at a wildlife sanctuary in Kent.

Escaped pigs make woodlands healthier

The species died out in the UK three centuries ago, but now small populations have either escaped or been released into the south and south-west. The trust, called Wildwood, says that woodland species will benefit from the reintroduction of wild boar because the pigs regenerate soil and boost the diversity of plant species, as well as dispersing large seed like acorns through woodlands.

Around a thousand boar are thought to be living wild and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs refuses to consider eradication programme for them, because the numbers are so low. However, people are allowed to shoot boar when seen, because  of fears that they pose a risk to agriculture and could spread diseases such as foot and mouth. The trust wants a licensing process to enable the animal to be released into woodlands.

Deer make woodlands less healthy!

And in Stamford Connecticut, a municipally organised deer hunt was ended early following complaints from animal rights activists who said that they had been able to enter the park area that was supposedly closed off for the hunt to take place.

A deer hunter had been given a permit to shoot deer in the sanctuary after concerns were raised that the high number of deer in the area could be damaging the habitat for other species in the area, which is classed as a bird sanctuary.   He shot two deer but had hoped to kill several more.  More than $500,000 was spent on replanting the 13-acre preserve with native trees and bushes to create a habitat for birds and other small animals. Because dogs are not allowed in the sanctuary, it has become a real magnet for deer and now they are eating down the species provided for other, rarer native mammals. Local objections centre the hunting being an ‘unnecessary human intervention’, which ‘turned the deer into targets’.

In both cases, there’s a real lack of understanding about the relationship between animals and eco-systems. In most of the developed world we have absolutely no idea about the nature of interactions between predatory mammals and their environments – not only have most large species of predator been removed from their natural homes, but the creation of dwellings, the imposition of agriculture and the removal of woodlands has forced unnatural behaviours on those that remain. To suggest that any ecosystem in almost any part of the world can now survive without intensive human management is simply naïve – but the nature of that management is a polarising issue between the animal rights believers who think that removing management will allow an ecosystem to find a natural harmony and the human rights believers who think that balancing demands for food, shelter and recreation for the human population with the licence given to predatory species is the only way to ensure the survival of such animals as wolves, bears and lions.

Sustainablity fans and animal lovers on opposite sides

Large mammals such as deer have become increasingly a focus for this debate, as they damage gardens and farmlands, leading to the odd situation that those advocating their removal are often the ‘hippy types’ who once wanted to live in partnership with nature. That partnership isn’t so enticing when nature just ate your entire winter vegetable supply!

Wild boar courtesy of Neil Phillips at Flickr under a creative commons licence

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