The article on the possible return of boar hunting seems to suggest trapping, shooting and hunting are the only methods of dealing with wild boar and feral pigs in our county, (The Argus, May 31).

Inner-city Wildlife Concern took part in the Government consultation and felt the matter needed much more thought.

It and other conservation bodies, such as Sussex Wildlife Trust, remain undecided as to what, if anything, should be done.

What none of us want to see is yet another wild animal made the subject of cruelty and abuse and this could easily happen.

There are not many wild boar in England at the moment.

The consultation paper gave an estimate of fewer than 500 in Kent and East Sussex.

The habitat of wild boar is woodland and England has only 8.5 per cent, among the lowest in Europe.

So it would seem we still have time to get it right before action is taken. Wild boar play a role in our eco-system by rooting in the ground.

Some studies show no significant damage to bulbs.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) suggests wild boar can cause road accidents and directly attack humans.

Yet records show only 14 road traffic accidents in nine years, while the two humans who were physically attacked in eight years had got too close to the boar's young.

Protecting their young is normal behaviour for every wild animal on our planet.

Farms and abattoirs have allowed animals to escape, which is how they have re-entered our countryside.

Security and records of escapes need tightening up at these places.

Boar became extinct in Britain at the end of the 13th Century. Now, 700 years on and supposedly more civilised, we need to consider its return seriously and not take the easy option of leaving it to breed, then allowing it to become a quarry for sport shooting.

Has the campaign against hunting with dogs taught our Government nothing?

-Gloria Wheatcroft, co-ordinator, Inner-city Wildlife Concern, Brighton and Hove area