Hi Nic,
I do totally agree that all efforts to re-release at sites where hogs were picked up should be made and certainly the carers I know – do this wherever and whenever possible. It does become a difficult decision though if the site / location is considered unsafe (and carer network have themselves put some less formal agreement/guidance around this based upon their conclusions that they share between them). There is a question as to the impact of hog rehabilitation also on their own immune system and home map recollection, that we simply don’t know enough about yet, so then the balance of risk of re-release back were they were found versus a known safe site comes into play its a difficult call. I know – the added complexity of the re-released hog on pre-existing wildlife and environment is yet another factor, so all very complex.
My bigger question though is the approach taken by recue centres and wildlife centres who take in hundreds each year – in one case upwards of a thousand – but they all get released in big batches, over a short period, in one fairly local ‘safe’ area. should BHPS be looking into the impact this is having as ultimately it could be driving hog numbers down and not up, on a Nationwide scale – it could also be having a detrimental impact on the pre-existing wildlife and environment.
