the real reason pigs is טרפה / حرام

becoz if you eat them, then the forests get all upfucked.

if you wanna read the article in the original at the scotsman, getcher login here. otherwise, enjoy the heavily-enhanced version i have created for our readers, complete with hyperlinks explaining what animals (some of these are tricky: north americans use the same words for completely unrelated animals! so don't take it for granted) and places they are talking about.

Wild boar the Ground Force Team to Revive Forest

Wild boar have returned to an area where their ancestors once foraged to help efforts to restore the ancient Caledonian pine forest.

A project has started in Glen Affric in which wild boar are now living and breeding within two large enclosures in the forest. It is hoped that the "original ground disturbance force" will eat invasive bracken and help increase the number of tree seedlings to regenerate the forests.

The project is unique in using wild boar to manage a native pine wood and the eight sows, one boar, called Boris, and 40 young will soon be rewarded for their efforts by moving from a test plot of just over an acre to a larger home of about 10 acres.

Munching on the exposed tubers, the animals eat young bracken shoots as they emerge in spring. It is hoped that the patches of well turned soil left behind will provide a fertile seed bed for the regeneration of native species such as pine, rowan and birch, and the project will monitor seedling establishment over the next two to three years.

Glen Affric, 35 miles from Inverness, covers 36,000 acres and contains one of the largest ancient Caledonian pinewoods in Scotland. Over £1 million has been spent to achieve National Nature Reserve status and it is a haven for wildlife such as golden eagles and osprey, and attracts some 70,000 visitors a year.

The boar are farm reared by Liz Balharry, a freelance ecologist, and Ray Grant, and the project is supported by a range of bodies including the Forestry Commission, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the European LEADER+ programme, the Forestry Research programme and the Macaulay Institute which will monitor the animals' progress. Ms Balharry said:

Boar are compulsive rooters, they root all the time whether they are looking for food or not. And they not only root up the bracken but they eat it as well, both the fresh stalks and the more mature stuff.

With the wetter climate, bracken is increasing in cover in Scotland and there are bits of pine woodland which are being overtaken by bracken and it stops it regenerating under that kind of shade.

The boar come in and gradually reduce the amount of bracken there. It's an ideal situation as they are happy and they are helping the woodland. It's a long-term project and we will monitor how they do over three years.

The beauty of wild boar is that they work away at small patches and get rid of the bracken and let the heather and grasses come back. You could go in with machinery and cut it back, but that is not really what you want on a nature reserve.

Unlike many British species that have become extinct, wild boar existed in Britain long after the Roman occupation.

At the time of the Norman Conquest, severe laws were passed against anyone who killed them, except in legitimate chase, and the animal continued to be hunted up until the 16th century.

They became extinct in Britain in 1683, partially as a result of hunting and partly by absorption into domestic herds.

Their name is a misnomer for the modern breed which are raised in captivity in a growing number of farms in Scotland, including in the Highlands. The animals are close relatives of the boars highly prized in southern Europe for their ability to root up truffles.

Four years ago the Forestry Commission brought in wild boar to a woodland near Fochabers in Moray to help a regeneration project. They were also used to rid woodland areas in Moray of rhododendrons.

Ms Balharry said the farm reared animals are relatively tame and are safe in the company of humans, including children.

They are still classed as dangerous wild animals but it is a grey area now as it's no longer exotic to farm them, so they are more like livestock. The down side is that, because, they are classed as dangerous wild animals, the fencing is very expensive. But I think I can put a case when we are finished here that stock fencing is quite adequate for these boar.

John Ireland, a forester with the Forestry Commission, said other projects are using cattle as part of woodland regeneration schemes.

It's rediscovering ancient techniques that have not been used for some time to see if they can work in the modern world. The way forestry and farming are going there is definite opportunities for them to work together. Nearly 1500 hectares of non-native trees have been removed to allow native species to flourish in Glen Affric.

Once covering thousands of square miles of Scotland, the native Caledonian pinewoods are found at 84 sites in the north and west of Scotland, covering around 70 square miles.

Menagerie of Countryside Comeback Contenders

Other animals, some extinct in Scotland, could make a return to the countryside.

Some experts have suggested bringing back wolves, wiped out in the 17th century, as a tourist attraction and to help control the deer population.

Paul Lister, owner of the Alladale estate in Sutherland and Easter Ross, has plans to create a fenced wilderness home for the European grey wolf, brown bear, wild boar, European bison and lynx.

Plans to bring back the European beaver to Scotland have been discussed for more than eight years, but a final decision has yet to be taken by the Scottish Executive. It is felt beavers would create more habitat diversity around rivers and lochs and help water purification.

Freshwater pearl mussels, which are being reintroduced in the Cairngorms, are seen as helpful to the eco-system.

However, introducing alien species can have an adverse effects. Grey squirrels have killed young trees and put pressure on red squirrels. Mink and hedgehogs, introduced to the Western Isles, devastated bird colonies and are now being wiped out.

yes, it's the whole article. because it's behind a lockbox and will be deleted, and someday i'll want to read the whole thing and it'll be gone. so there.

plus i added pics and links. and i'll add more, too.