The excellent open letter to the Forestry Commission  by Joyce Moss in the May 2 edition of the Review is one which I am sure many of the "silent majority " on this subject would agree completely.

The Forestry Commission's management of woodlands is superb, but the apparent strategy behind their management of the relatively new phenomenon (in recent centuries) of boar in the forest is sadly suspect – with more than a whiff about it of the recent badger cull fiasco.

Apparently in 2010 (reported via BBC news) there were about 150 boar in the forest, now the Forestry Commission estimates about 800-900. Questionable figures?

In July 2011 a research article published in the Royal Forestry Society's Journal of Forestry concluded that :"free-living wild boar have been present for about 20 years within British woodlands but their impact remains unclear and it is unknown whether or not their presence is beneficial."

More research then is  surely needed before an  indiscriminate and ill-founded cull begins?

The Forestry Commission have failed miserably to convince most of us it is acting in a professional manner based on factual evidence and good practice. It needs a policy rethink. Joyce Moss's suggestions would be a good place to start.

– D. Boyett, Caldicot.