[Music]
This story starts in September last year.
A few days before the start of the shooting season, George asks us over to film some driven
boar shooting...
Not in Germany, but Sussex.
The reason?
Unprecedented boar damage to his cover crops.
It's put him in an impossible situation.
I hate it to be honest.
If I am honest it is not something, I love to see them about, but I think they are a
wonderful animal, but he being a conservationist I also understand that stuff has to be controlled.
I wouldn't want to see massive damage done everywhere and I wouldn't want to see the
last one eradicated.
With only two beaters, it's going to be hard going but George is desperate to move them
on.
He positions himself near a damaged fence line, a semi auto filled with solid slugs.
This is one load he isn't prepared to put through his competition Perazzi.
The guys work through the maize crop but the only thing that shows itself is a fox who
doesn't realise how lucky it is.
The beating line, such as it is, pushes through another couple on the estate, but they're
boar free.
The alternative strategy is even less appealing to George.
Lamping them.
Tonight the rifle I am using is a Tikka T3, a .308 calibre.
Sussex police have a minimum requirement of .270 to shoot wild boar and you have to have
it on your licence to be able to go after them.
So that is one of the reasons I have been called in to do this, because I have got the
permission to shoot the ground and I have got boar on my licence.
So we are meeting all the requirements tonight to be able to go after them in a legal manner
and hopefully we will get a chance at one.
George has a .308 and .243 with him - keeping his options open and with good reason...
The night starts with some foxing action - George not only has to protect his cover crops but
his birds too.
As you'd expect it's a well executed shot.
When the light touched it, it was obviously a little bit lamp shy, it had been shot at
before I would think and it turned and ran here round about ten yards, stopped and looked
over its shoulder and that was just enough to get a shot at it.
It was about 250 yards, a nice shot.
A safe background into the bank.
Nice start.
200 yards further on in the super smooth electric Polaris, he bags another just yards from the
pens.
This one's a big lad.
Very, very big fox.
Probably one of the biggest foxes I have seen.
It is a real big dog fox, thick set as well, lot of muscle.
That will have been a real hunter killer.
It was a good one to get.
On the other side of the estate we get our first sight of pig.
They cross along the fence line and disappear into the wood.
George considers a shot but lets them go.
He isn't happy taking a shot at this range at night.
The last thing he wants is an injured boar with no means of tracking it.
That was the last chance George had before the game season started.
Tonight, four-and-a-half months later, we're on boar patrol again.
They are creating so much damage for me at the moment I have got to go and do something
about it.
I don't think there are huge amounts, but I think to just take one or maybe two out
is the way forward to hopefully move them on and push them back in the woods where they
can root up anemone roots and bulbs and those sorts of things.
In a normal year it wouldn't be a problem because they would be on the acorns, hard
on the acorns in the hard wood, but there are no acorns at all this year, no chestnuts.
So consequently they are out after everything they can get their hands on.
The damage to the ground and the feeders is clear to see - and George is confident we'll
spot one tonight.
However, just like last time, the fox is the first target and George is keen to see it
drop.
And this is the reason why?
Now we just shot that fox there now and he was working his way up through the park and
the reason he is working his way up through the park is it has been a windy night some
of these pheasants have been blown out of the roost.
If you look over there in the light now there is pheasant on the ground which has been blown
off the roost.
See that.
If a pheasant gets blown off the roost, that will be it now he won't go back up and roost
tonight.
We drive through the maize: - the boars' acorn-substitute this winter - but there's no sign.
However, the foxes are not being so shy.
No lamp averse animals here.
If I see a fox and get an opportunity to get a fox I have got to take it, otherwise I am
not doing my job.
George drops one after another - the hum of the Polaris keeping them sitting pretty.
There's even a pair running together.
George gets the first.
The second runs but a drive through some other fields accounts for her too.
There's frustration for all.
George needs to scare these animals back into the woods so they don't interrupt the gathering-up
work at the end of the season.
So we will be back for our elusive Sussex boar in the next few days.