Pigtopia, Pigs In The Forest Of Dean, England

We decided to return to the forest. Before long the Pig Spirit took us and showed us the way. In other words we got lost and walked down the wrong path. Just as it dawned on us we'd gone the wrong way there they were. Semi domesticated free living pigs. www.deanverderers.org.uk...

We sang to them. They like it.

While we were setting up camp another group of smaller pigs wandered in then scampered off through the bracken.

I was there to communicate with the Pig Spirit. There are issues.
www.thesundaytimes.co.uk...

WILD boar roaming Britain’s woodland have begun hunting and killing sheep, especially lambs, say vets.

The animals, apparently hunting in a pack, have trampled and eaten four lambs in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, according to reports sent to the Forestry Commission, which is part of Defra, the environment agency.

Wild boar, of which about 4,000 roam Britain, are known to scavenge on carcasses and sometimes attack people and dogs, but killing animals for food has not been seen before.

Hysteria is not necessary. I sleep out in the open knowing I could wake up with a pig sniffing my face. Waking up with an animal sniffing at you is not uncommon if you sleep out a lot. I once woke up surrounded by white bullocks all sniffing at me. I was on my feet fairly fast that morning. It was the polecat in Wales that scared me. I sat up, he started chattering and bouncing, I pulled the sleeping bag over my head and waited till he'd gone away. You could probably acclimatise the pigs to your presence over time and sleep in the bracken with them fairly safely.

We sang to the pigs as the night went on. Noises could be heard around us now and then. When the time was right I began speaking loud and clear about the issues. I asked what was their suggestion.

The Pig Spirit spoke. Pigtopia. Pigtopia is a widely recognised worldwide phenomena. More on that later.

The pigs of The Forest Of Dean wish for the entire forest to become a pig themed park called Pigtopia. Everything pig related. No eating pig products. The motto is - 'All True Animal Lovers Come To Pigtopia'.

I pointed out that at the present rate of reproduction their combined body weight would be heavier than the Earth by tomorrow. The Pig Spirit spoke again. Piggy monasteries.

Don't blame me for this, I'm just repeating what the Pig Spirit told me. It was surprising to me as well. A seemingly ridiculous solution matches an obviously ridiculous situation.

I have no idea how to establish a piggy monastery. If you feel qualified to contribute in some way please do. I'm out of my depth when it comes to piggy monasteries.

Later, the night birds joined in the conversation. I asked them how they feel about the pigs. They said they want them gone. They also want more clearings in the forest. Perhaps some compromise could be reached whereby clearings are incorporated into the Pigtopia theme park.

Can anyone really say this is any more absurd than what's going on in The Forest Of Dean at the moment?

As we left the forest another group of small and mid sized pigs ambled away from us. In the three groups we saw there was only one mature adult visible. The population is growing rapidly. There are numerous fallow deer in the forest who are more shy than the pigs. More wild. The semi domesticated free living pigs are far friendlier. Pigtopia. Pigs and Humans living in harmony.

Here's evidence that Pigtopia is a worldwide phenomena.Just don't let ASIO strap a bomb to him and herd him into The Hilton.

a reply to: Kester

While Pigtopia sounds like a great idea I think the great Pig Spirit may be pushing it a bit with Piggy monasteries.

What about a 'catch, sterilize, and release' program?

This is what some neighborhoods do about feral cats here in the U.S.

In essence you'd be making the whole forest a 'pig monastery/convent'

a reply to: lostgirl

It wouldn't happen with pigs.

It would be catch, Bacon,Bacon,Bacon.
Very intelligent animals Pigs.
I hope they grow bacon in a vat one day so we don't have to eat them,,,,mind you it does their population well by us eating them.
Oh OP I want to come down now
I will not eat any I promise.

Oh and Monkeys now use them like horses.

a reply to: Kester

Oh and lol at

I pointed out that at the present rate of reproduction their combined body weight would be heavier than the Earth by tomorrow. The Pig Spirit spoke again. Piggy monasteries.

You do know Pigs taste a lot like bacon. I wouldn't get too attached to them.

a reply to: Kester

Pigs are a prized posession in many melanesean cultures. We use pigs for paying bride prizes and those delicious smoked sago rolls with pig interstine fillings.

I am sorry, if I may have went off there abit. Just couldn't help myself there.

Peace

a reply to: Kester

I was wondering do they taste as good as they looked in the Asterix comics

a reply to: Kester


Funny thing about pigs is that we share genes with them that are not shared in other primates.. How this has happened it a bit of a mystery... We never bred with them..

a reply to: gortex

We have a bracken problem. www.qmscotland.co.uk...

Falling stock numbers in upland areas are seen as a major trigger for the rapid growth of the area of bracken in the UK, currently spreading at a rate of 100,000 acres per annum.

Piggy monasteries can combine clearing bracken for tree planting with peaceful Piggy contemplation.

I imagine mobile pens made of steel tube, a covered sleeping space in the corner. Dedicated rewilders keep the Piggies supplied with water and food supplements, moving the pens onto fresh ground when all the bracken roots have been eaten or rooted out. It would probably have to be one boar to a pen to prevent fighting.

Highly labour intensive but it would result in woodland instead of bracken.

a reply to: lostgirl

It's possible, but a lot of pigs and people would probably get hurt.

Feeding contraceptives is also possible. Problems are, other creatures eating the spilled food, impossible to match dose to pig size and moody pigs suffering hormonal imbalance.

www.britishwildboar.org.uk...

"A retired wild boar/domestic pig PhD scientist emails: "On welfare grounds, the ablation of ovarian function including hormone production may well affect the behaviour of the sows and cause instability in social behaviour of the sounder and in the more general boar population."

a reply to: purplemer

When I looked into the gene mystery I came across this.

www.newscientist.com...
"For example, says Essig, when the pharaohs needed a supply of food to help build the Pyramids, cattle and sheep were herded in from the provinces, but pigs got left off the menu as they were too independent. “Priests and bureaucrats, who dined on lamb and beef, came to despise pigs,” says Essig: pork was for the rural poor."


And this. www.playingwithpigs.nl...

Skip to 6:50 for the action.