I have been following your reports about our wild boar population with interest and I would be interested to know why there never seems to be any positive press reports coming from the Forest of Dean area?

I live and work on Exmoor in North Devon and we have wild boar here and they live alongside us with very few problems. I say very few problems because we all know that they can and do uproot grass and verges, but have you ever stopped to think about the good these animals are actually doing for our natural habitats and wildlife?

When they root the grass it encourages new growth and regeneration of what would normally be an untouched area of grass. All this new growth will in turn encourage new wildlife species, new plant growth and insects which we need to maintain a healthy and sensible environment.

I am not some raving loony slapping on about save the planet but I am someone who cares passionately about our surroundings and our wildlife.

If we allow these animals to be shot just because they are digging a few gardens up what will we have to pass onto our kids – the people who will be living in the future? The answer is nothing which is why we have to do something now to ensure that we leave something that they can enjoy and learn from.

People just do not understand what makes the wild boar tick, how they actually help the surroundings and we would all benefit from having some positive press reports to help us.

So, my challenge is for you to arrange a meeting with the managers of Friends of the Boar – Forest of Dean – who would no doubt be very willing to give you, your readers and the paper a true and exciting insight to this fantastic animal that poses no threat to school kids or humans.

I have had encounters with boar and they have never been aggressive towards me or anyone else I know who have also had the pleasure of seeing and photographing them.

I am a passionate wildlife photographer and write monthly articles for our local magazines and have photographs published on a regular basis both in the press and on television and we need help to promote the welfare of our wildlife instead of assassinating what is a much needed wild animal species living in our woodlands and forests.

The last point to make is that particularly in your area the wild boar are only venturing out to the villages and gardens because they are being pushed from the forest by the Forestry Commission's work within the forest along with the ill-informed and poorly planned cull. Would you hang about if you were being shot at?

Please contact Friends of the Boar and give this animal the help it needs.