Feral pigs that appeared to have been illegally released in the Cairngorms National Park have been captured and humanely culled, the BBC reports.
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 the pigs were ‘relatively domesticated’ and appeared to have been illegally abandoned, while NFU Scotland and NPA also condemned the illegal release, highlighting the disease risk with foot-and-mouth disease and African swine fever currently present in Europe.
The group of feral pigs was initially spotted about five miles away from where four lynx were dumped in the park before later being caught.
A photograph of the pigs taken earlier this week appeared to show nine animals but Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) said eight were culled, the BBC reports.
FLS, which was working with the park authority to catch the pigs, 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. 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.”
Scotland is thought to have a few thousand free-roaming feral pigs. Wild boar are a native species to Scotland, but were hunted to extinction about 700 years ago, but over about the last 10 years, populations of free-roaming pigs have become established in Dumfries and Galloway and the Highlands, the BBC reports.
The populations include animals that have escaped from farms or been illegally released into the wild.