At the Edge

Wild boar are making a quiet comeback — not just in our landscapes, but in our conversations too.Attempts to hold boar captive in farms have repeatedly failed and today, pockets of these prolific digging machines can be found across the south of England and several parts of Scotland.Fans point to their ecological benefits – their rootling turns over the soil and their wallowing creates mini wetlands. They are to our woodlands what beavers are to our rivers.But this disturbance of the ground is what many people find unsettling. Wild boar strike a nerve because they not only dig in fields and forests, but in gardens, parks, golf courses… even cemeteries.And, it seems, they have a particular liking for bluebells.Additional info At the Edge is an independent media platform that takes a deep dive into our relationship with wild nature, exploring pathways to living well with wildlife.Follow us on Instagram, or join me, Peter Cairns, on LinkedIn and Bluesky. And if you like what we do, please consider Buying Me A Coffee to support the production of future podcasts and other content.This episode of At The Edge is produced in partnership with Adventurous Audio and is kindly supported by Ballintean Mountain Lodge.Useful linksMeet the contributors on LinkedIn:Alex Davies, Calum Brown, Chantal Lyons, Toryn Whitehead, and Pete Moore.Learn more about Bunloit Estate.Order Groundbreakers, the excellent book about boar by Chantal Lyons.Read this interim policy brief on feral pigs in Scotland.Find out more about NatureScot's position on wild boar/feral pigs.Learn more about wild boar in England and view the Action Plan.

In August 2025, a farmer from the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, claimed that sea eagles had taken five of his Shetland pony foals.Whether this happened—or could happen at all—remains unproven, but the incident ignited a media storm and brought a key question back into focus: How do we balance nature recovery with the needs of rural livelihoods?In Episode #3 of At the Edge, Peter Cairns explores the complex factors shaping perceptions around the resurgence of these charismatic birds.Additional info At the Edge is an independent media platform that takes a deep dive into our relationship with wild nature, exploring pathways that allow us to live well with wildlife.Follow us on Instagram, or join me, Peter Cairns, on LinkedIn and Bluesky. And if you like what we do, please consider Buying Me A Coffee to support the production of future podcasts and other content.This episode was produced in partnership with Adventurous Audio, and kindly supported by Ballintean Mountain Lodge.Useful linksWatch the RSPB film "The Return", a celebration of white-tailed eagles (or 'sea eagles'.)Learn about the Sea Eagle Management Scheme in Scotland.Learn about the reintroduction of sea eagles to southern England.Learn more abut the work of the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation.Learn about Tom Fry's research on attitudes towards sea eagles.Thanks in this episode go to Alice Bacon, Lewis Pate and Ewan Miles of Nature Scotland. Thanks too to the many people who have offered their views on this subject.

The UK has lost more of its wildlife than almost any other country. So, for some, the return of sea eagles, beavers, wild boar and pine martens is a rare and uplifting conservation triumph. For others, this wildlife resurgence represents a threat to rural livelihoods and an erosion of countryside traditions.So, how much wild are we willing to live with? And who gets to decide?In Episode #1 of At the Edge, host Peter Cairns speaks to expert guests who each shine a light on the social, cultural and political barriers facing Britain's wildlife comeback.Additional info and useful linksThis episode was produced in partnership with Adventurous Audio.Check out Jonny Hanson's book Living with Lynx with Lynx.Meet David Hetherington, Darragh Hare and Kirsten Brewster.Find out more about our supporter, Ballintean Mountain Lodge.Learn more about At the Edge and follow us on Instagram, or join me, Peter Cairns, on LinkedIn and Bluesky.