A wild boar cull is to restart in the Forest of Dean after being suspended over fears they could be wiped out.
The Forestry Commission has said its annual cull would begin later this month with the aim of shooting 100 animals by January.
It recently agreed to raise the Dean's target population from 90 boar to 400.
Campaign group Friends of the Wild Boar has "reservations" about the cull restarting, as estimated numbers vary wildly from 200-600.'Open population'
Ian Harvey, from the Forestry Commission in the Dean, said a target population of 400 was "much more realistic" than 90, although the debate over numbers would always continue.
He said: "It's an open population. It's not enclosed by fences so there's movement in and out of the forest depending on food availability and time of year, so whatever methodology you use to try and address numbers it will only ever be an estimate.
"Last year we culled 150 and this year there are more animals about than that - so clearly doing nothing, given their breeding dynamics, is not an option."
Continued: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-19585674
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