Scotland’s wild boar numbers to rise 60% in 50 years

Wild boar numbers across Scotland are set to rise significantly over the next 50 years, according to a new report.

Researchers said numbers are expected to rise from 1,472 today to about 2,400 by 2075 – an increase of more than 60%.

Their modelling also shows that the animals will explore an additional 131 sq km (50 sq miles) each year.

Wild boar were once extinct in the UK but began to re-establish themselves in the 1970s and can now be found in the west Highlands and Dumfries and Galloway.

Less well known populations of wild boar can also be found across Perthshire, north Stirling, Moray and Aberdeenshire.

They likely returned to the wild as a result of accidental escapes and illegal introductions.

The research was carried out by the James Hutton environmental research institute, King’s College London and the Zoological Society of London.

Their report, published in the journal Science Direct, is expected to help inform the way the population is managed in the future.

Wild boar can help ecosystems by rooting through soil, and can support communities through tourism and hunting.

But they can also cause issues such as disease transmission, injury to pets, loss of crops, and damage to land and gardens.

To understand how Scotland’s boar population might change, the researchers’ modelling considered boar behaviour, land cover and environmental variability.

They say their study is the first to provide such a detailed simulation of wild boar dynamics across Scotland.

They believe it could be used to support potential future compensation schemes for those who have been affected by wild boar, or the targeted culling of the animals.

PhD student Connor Lovell, who carried out the modelling, said: “With wild boar back in Scotland, this model is a key step to understand where boar could go, how big their populations could be, and where they could impact ecosystems and local communities.”