PREVIEW

WORDS BYLINE: Carolyn Griffith

Troublesome pigs who were spotted raiding graves at a cemetery have been removed from the Forest.

Around eight piglets were seen eating flowers placed on graves at Beaulieu cemetery in Lodge Lane yesterday (Wednesday).

Local Sonia Gray, who posted a video of them online, said: “As much as we love these little rascals, they really are becoming very destructive. Here they are absolutely trashing the graves in Beaulieu cemetery. They’re completely ignoring all the acorns.”

Every autumn around 600 domestic pigs and piglets, owned by commoners, are allowed out to roam the national park. They eat the nuts, as well as chestnuts and beechmast, which are poisonous to the grazing animals.

This year, a bumper crop led the pannage season to be extended until 4th January next year.

Sonia told the A&T: “The mum was on the other side, but the piglets can get under the fence at the entrance. This has happened before and I called the verderers and told the cemetery people, but it wasn’t sealed off.

“This time they were bigger and more destructive – the last time I saw them they were tiny and were playing on the grass, not near the graves, and they were quite cute. They went to sleep on the grass.”

“This time, it was heartbreaking to see. They were feasting on graves – they like to snuffle in fresh soil – and they were taking flowers off fresh graves.

“It was pretty dreadful to see. They were too big to move, I couldn’t shoo them away. It was quite harrowing to see this happen to people’s loved ones’ graves.”

Sonia said she approached a visitor to the cemetery to make them aware, only to discover it was the sibling of someone who had been buried only last week.

She added: “Everyone loves the pigs, but this sort of thing can’t be happening.”

Clerk to the verderers, Justine Bayley, told the A&T the pigs had been temporarily removed.

She said: “Pigs do an important job in the Forest during pannage when they are turned out to eat the acorns which are toxic to ponies and cattle. Properties with a Forest boundary are required to fence against all livestock including pigs.

“It has been brought to our attention that a small section of the cemetery fence is not stockproof. The [district] council have been contacted to remedy the issue and in the meantime the pigs have been temporarily removed.”

The A&T has contacted NFDC for comment.