More bad British bacon in the news:
Some of the first wild boar to roam free in England for 300 years have been raiding rubbish bins, attacking dogs and digging up green spaces in villages scattered around England’s first national forest park.
Recent snow and icy weather has interrupted rubbish collection service in the Forest of Dean leaving tempting treats in local bins that have attracted the boar, which ordinarily forage for shoots, leaves, bulbs, worms and carrion.
Some areas in the forest, which is in the west of England close to the border with Wales, have not seen garbage collection since before the Christmas holidays.
The porcine pests were accidentally released in the area when farmed porkers escaped following a truck accident. There are the usual apologists claiming that the feral creatures belong there since Britain used to have wild boar.
Britain also used to have knights who essentially owned the peasantry. And drawing and quartering, they used to have that.
What struck me most about this story is that bit about some areas not having seen garbage collection since before Christmas. I know there has been rather a lot of snow on the other side of the pond. But that fact speaks volumes about the sad state of affairs in Britain. We have been hammered by snow where I live – and my garbage service has not missed a single collection. (I pay for my service directly, of course, since I live well outside of any town.) But the nearby cities missed garbage collections on a few days during the worst weather – but were back to normal pickups within days. If garbage collection had been suspended this long, there would be serious problems for the politicians in those cities.
Anyway, back to the porky pirates. Whether the apologists care to admit it or not, wild boar – or wild feral pigs pretending to be wild boar (the story muddles the details more than a little) – are extremely dangerous creatures. It is literally only a matter of time until there is an incident involving a human. Because of the overflowing garbage situation, the bacon with an attitude is now becoming habituated with humans and their garbage. There will be an incident unless the feral boars/pigs are removed.
Yeah. The two weeks with no garbage collection struck me as a story in itself. It would be interesting to know the details for such a long lapse of service.
Pigs are incredibly destructive. A group of domestic pigs can destroy an anvil buried in concrete and I am sure the wild kind are no different. A guy from Oklahoma told me a herd of wild pigs could destroy an entire field of peanuts under a center pivot in a week. They are literally 4 legged rototillers.
An unfortunate incident is indeed possible. If someone would happen to pick up a cute little piglet and it squealed for mom they could be in for a very bad time. I have read of sows besting bears when defending their young.
Years ago I would buy feeder pigs from a college friend. When we went in to take the pigs from the sows he would carry a baseball bat and didn’t hesitate to use it. A man is no match for an enraged 600 lb sow. They are a menace.
I suggest competitive barbecue cookoffs. Then throw the spent coals on the roads so the garbage trucks can get through.
As we say here under the bridge, nothing solves problems like a bunch of burn barrels.
Britain also used to have knights who essentially owned the peasantry. And drawing and quartering, they used to have that.
As soon as I read the part about loss of garbage collection, feral pigs, and freezing weather, my first thought was, “All this story needs is the Sherrif of Nottingham and some Merry Men.”