Princess Anne's pig killed in 'wild boar attack'

Wild boar are large, bristly-haired ancestors of farmyard pigs

A pig belonging to Princess Anne was killed after a wild boar got on to her estate, the royal has said.

She told a farming conference her property had been visited by a wild boar on Tuesday, according to the Western Morning News.

The Princess Royal is reported to have told delegates her "Gloucester Old Spot boar is no longer with us as a result".

The princess, who lives at Gatcombe Park, is patron of the Gloucestershire Old Spots Pig Breeders' Club.

She has kept pigs for a number of years at her Gloucestershire home.

Princess Anne lives at Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire with her husband, Timothy Laurence

The princess told the conference: "We had a visitation in my woods the other day from a wild boar.

"Unfortunately, my two sows are obviously in season, but we had just put the boar in with them.

"My Gloucester Old Spot boar is no longer around - he was killed by this visiting wild boar.

"So far, we haven't found the origins of this particular invader and I'm hoping I'm not going to see him again for a bit.

"But you never quite know where your challenges are going to come from, do you?"

'Increasingly worried'

Gloucestershire Old Spots are listed as a minority breed on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust watchlist, with between 500 and 1,000 breeding females believed to be in the country.

There is a large population of wild boars in the Forest of Dean - 17 miles (27km) away from Gatcome Park.

On Monday, 47-year-old Raymond Green was killed on the M4 in Wiltshire in a crash caused by a wild boar wandering onto the motorway.

Sgt Steven Love, from Wiltshire Police, said it was a "truly tragic incident" involving a "particularly large wild animal".

The two incidents have prompted North Wiltshire MP, James Gray, to write to Natural England expressing his concern about wild boar sightings.

"People are increasingly worried that the wild boar population is now out of control and constituents of mine in Box and in nearby Corsham have spotted them recently", he said.

"I have therefore taken the opportunity of writing to Andrew Sells, Chairman of Natural England, to seek details of the evidence known to him on the current wild boar population, and to seek his advice on what can be done about this growing problem."