Tourists visiting the New Forest have been urged by locals to stop pestering their pigs for selfies.
Each year, hundreds of pigs owned by local landowners are released into the New Forest for pannage, an age-old practice where they roam the forest floor eating fallen acorns and nuts that are toxic to other livestock.
It is the only period when pigs are permitted to wander freely in the park, and the tradition has become a popular attraction for visitors.
But New Forest animal welfare campaigner Gilly Jones has warned that the surge in tourist numbers is putting the hogs at risk.
Hundreds of pigs owned by local landowners are released into the Hampshire national park for pannage
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PA
Ms Jones said she has seen a female pig have a camera shoved just inches from her snout, piglets chased down busy roads, and even through a car park by both adult and child tourists.
The campaigner said she had also witnessed animals being “pinned against a hedge” by a group who arrived at the park by coach, and noted that a local business had posted videos online showing visitors playing with the piglets.
She said: “My issue is the constant, and I mean constant, plaguing they are suffering by the ‘piggy tourists’.”
Ms Jones added that she has raised the issue with New Forest’s Verderers Court.
The pigs roam the forest floor eating fallen acorns and nuts that are toxic to other livestock
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GETTY
The New Forest Code explicitly states that pigs must not be handled or fed by members of the public.
The animal safety campaigner also slammed the local businesses “advertising” the creatures.
She said: “Social media pages should not be posting pictures of the pigs.”
New Forest Commoners’ Defence Association chairman Andrew Parry-Norton said that he acknowledged the wandering hogs were a “unique” spectacle, but pleaded with the public to “admire from afar”.
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Ms Jones said she has seen tourists chase piglets down busy roads
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PA
Mr Parry-Norton also asked visitors travelling to the park with dogs to keep them on leads due to the sows being fiercely protective of their young.
He added that local residents should be “realistic” as visitors will always be attracted to the park to see them roaming freely.
The New Forest Commoners’ Defence Association chairman said: “We have to be realistic, people are going to keep coming to the forest, it is a National Park.
“You know, we say don’t touch them, don’t feed them, don’t pat them.
“Look at them and admire them. They are doing a really important job.
“We get more and more people visiting. You know we have got three or four major cities around the New Forest.
“There are more and more people living in the area. Visitor numbers are going up every year.”
Addressing the issue of selfie-hungry tourists, Mr Parry-Norton said: “Look, people are going to come and they are going to take pictures of the pigs, that is not illegal.
“What we ask is that people stay well back. Use the zoom on your camera to get a closer shot.”
