No. Not as a pack of hounds, but two dogs may be used to track and follow-up wounded or injured animals.

No. There are no closed seasons for wild boar.

Yes. There are no restrictions on shooting wild boar at night as wild boar have no specific legal status. However it is important to behave in a humane manner at all times, and to prevent any act of cruelty that may leave you open to prosecution under the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 i.e. do you have procedures and any equipment to follow-up and despatch any wounded animals in the dark.

Potentially, yes. Wild boar are very large tough animals. Their chest cavity is well protected by a thick plate of cartilage, muscle and fat, which usually requires a deep penetrating bullet to humanely control mature specimens. Wounded animals can become very aggressive and attack the hunter or worse, escape and attack people out in the countryside. Therefore the suggested minimum calibre which is accepted by most police forces is .270 and 130 grain bullet and a minimum muzzle energy of 2600ft/lbs. This should be regarded as the absolute minimum and larger calibre rifles should be used if possible. The 9.3 calibre rounds are very popular on the continent and are well proven for wild boar. It could be argued that .375 and larger calibres should also be allowed for wild boar. Twelve bore or larger shotguns using only a single projectile (rifled slug) can also be suitable for wild boar in certain conditions.

No, if left well alone. The boar will most likely move away from the guns and beaters before the drive starts. They are only likely to attack if cornered or threatened.

Yes. Particularly if their sources of natural food are in short supply. Boar feed on a wide variety of food and will readily feed on agricultural crops. Favourite crops include sugar beet, maize, potatoes, oats, wheat and grassland. In England, most of the damage reported has been damage to maize crops and rooting in grassland. Wild boar will also eat carrion such as dead livestock, and they have been reported to take dead and very weak lambs.

No. As wild boar were formerly a native species they should have a beneficial effect since they are replacing a lost part of the ecosystem. Scientific studies including work done by the University of Sussex suggest that although rooting of the soil can cause damage to carpets of bluebells, this impact is generally localised and short-lived and plants regrow in following years with increased vigour. Rooting also encourages the growth of new plants by uncovering dormant seeds in the soil. However there is some evidence that rooting in species-rich, semi-natural grassland can encourage colonisation by invasive weed species.

Neither the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 nor the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 (Modification) Order 1984 makes any provision to require a licensee to take any action to recover escaped animals. Under Section 6 of the act, local authorities have the power to seize any animal(s) and retain or destroy them, if any animal is being kept contrary to the act or any condition of the license under which it is being held. It has not been tested yet whether these powers could potentially be used to recapture escaped animals at the licensee’s expense.

The release of wild animals including non-native species is controlled by The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Part 1 section 14 of the act makes it an offence to release, or allow to escape in to the wild, any animal of a kind which is “not ordinarily resident in and is not a regular visitor to Great Britain in a wild state”. Section 27 then defines a number of terms used in part 1, but strangely does not give any definition of “ordinarily resident”. There is now a need for guidance on whether wild boar having existed in a feral state for many years could be considered as ordinarily resident.