There are no specific legal restrictions on shooting wild boar. However, the person doing the shooting must be authorised to do so on the land concerned, have an appropriate firearms certificate, and comply with other relevant firearms provisions.
Wild boar are feral animals, with general protection under the Protection of Animals Act 1911. This protects captive animals (including animals in traps) against unnecessary suffering, and the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 offers further protection against specific cruel acts, such as “impaling”, “stabbing” or “beating”.
A public consultation on future strategies for managing wild boar in England concluded on 6 January 2006. The consultation documents are available on the Defra website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/wild-boar /index.htm
Responses to the consultation will help to formulate a long term management policy to be announced later this year.