A man walking his dog in the Forest of Dean has had his finger bitten off by a wild boar prompting more concerns about the spread of the animals in the area.
The rogue male boar attacked Clive Lilley, 51, at Viney Hill, near Lydney, Gloucestershire, according to reports. Mr Lilley said the boar bit off the underside of his finger but left the nail intact.
“They told me it should grow back around although there will be a scar,” he said. “Fortunately I was wearing tight fitting elasticated gloves which absorbed much of the impact
For several years local farmers have expressed concern about the problem of an increasing population of wild boar in the forest.
National Pig Association chief executive Dr Zoe Davies said wild boar’s can pass exotic diseases to the domestic pig population.
“These pigs are gaining access to waste food when they root around in household bins and at picnic sites. We need to be mindful that in Eastern Europe wild boar have been integral in the spread of the deadly African swine fever (ASF) virus.”
“If an exotic disease like ASF got into the UK’s wild boar population, it would become almost impossible to prove that the disease had been stamped out. This would wreck our burgeoning export market, now worth £350 million a year, with devastating consequences for the industry.
“In addition, local businesses and tourism would suffer greatly as the whole area would be under restriction indefinitely. We only need to look back to the last foot-and-mouth disease outbreak to know exactly what impact this can have on local communities.”
