CALLS for the government to fund a referendum on a large- scale cull of wild boar in the Dean have been dismissed.

Defra – the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – said it "has no plans to hold or fund a referendum on the issue."

It made its position clear in an e-mail to Cllr Richard Leppington (UKIP, Blakeney and Bream) after he and fellow UKIP councillors, Colin Guyton and Alan Preest, requested Defra to fund a poll.

The e-mail also said the Forestry Commission is free to cull as many or as few boar as it feels appropriate.

The Forestry Commission has told the Review that it intends to increase the number of animals culled next season. A total of 135 animals were killed during the autumn and winter.

Tomorrow (Thursday) the Forest of Dean District Council will hold a debate on the boar.

Cllr Leppington, who sits on Gloucestershire County Council, said: "We asked Defra to fund a referendum because the Forestry Commission had said it did not have a mandate to carry out a large-scale cull.

"A referendum would give a definitive and democratic voice to the people of the Forest of Dean who are affected by the growing number of boar.

"I was surprised at how direct the reply from Defra was. It makes it clear that the decision on the number of boar is one for the Forestry Commission."

Deputy Surveyor Kevin Stannard said: "The Forestry Commission does not need a mandate from any local authority but it wanted to make sure we listen to our neighbours and visitors and make informed decisions on what we have heard.

"The number of wild boar we have culled on the public forest estate has not kept pace with the growing population.

"In each of the last two years we have tried to reach consensus with the main groups such as the UK Wild Boar Association, which is locally based, as to culling levels, but with limited success. 

"Local councils, such as West Dean Parish Council, have rightly met and discussed significant increases in damage to amenity grasslands and other impacts on residents.

"This interest from local councils has lead to a number passing resolutions along the lines of 'this council supports the Forestry Commission's endeavours to reduce the population of feral wild boar to a level whereby risks to public safety, road safety and damage to amenity grasslands are reduced to acceptable levels'.

"The Forestry Commission welcome this clarity, this is a clear direction and moves away from debates around total population size, to focus on damage and impacts.

"We will continue to listen to the views expressed by those with concern for animal welfare issues, and we will undertake the job we need to do in a professional way that achieves the cull without unnecessary animal welfare issues arising."

Tomorrow's meeting of the Forest Council will debate a motion tabled by Cllr Don Pugh (Lab, Pillowell).

It says: "This democratically-elected council supports the Forestry Commission in adopting effective management methods within their agreed management plan 2010-2016 that will control and maintain a sustainable feral wild boar population in the Forest of Dean."

•A young chef says the motorbike he used to get to work was written off after a collision with a wild boar near the Mireystock crossroads.

Tom Sime, of Brierley Hill, said he was driving to a friend's house in Coleford when the boar "appeared out of nowhere."

Tom, who works in Ross, said: "I didn't have time to avoid him and I hit him and slid down the road."

He said it cost him £280 to replace his Honda Sky moped which he relies on to get to work.