WHAT happened to the lady from?Cinderford must have been a terrifying experience at the time, and deserves sympathy. 

It's likely the sow was taken by surprise by the meeting and the sudden closeness of a dog. This boar family are probably the same ones, previously seen in the area, which have been almost tamely calm around people, including children, even when dogs were present.

When asking that 'something be done' about the boar it might be worth remembering that they wouldn't be out in the daytime, even running up to people getting out of cars, if people hadn't started feeding them. So the first thing might be to do something about this, by putting up very visible official notices in parking spots and other appropriate places, saying 'Do not feed the wild boar'. Maybe it needs to become an offence that people can be fined for?

The boar are part of a natural forest heritage which we destroyed once, and in my opinion it would be a sad day if it happened again. I hope that we can learn to show them the respect they deserve, and that we, and our dogs, will learn to live alongside the boar in the same way as they do in other European countries.

– Geof Kinns, Church Road, Cinderford.