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Chamber and committees

Question reference: S6W-44188

  • Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
  • Date lodged: 11 March 2026
  • Current status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 24 March 2026

Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to establish a genetic testing programme for "feral pigs" or wild boar (Sus scrofa).


Answer

The Scottish Government does not have any plans to establish a genetic testing programme for feral pigs or wild boar.

Previous testing undertaken by NatureScot and Science and Advice for Scotland’s Agriculture (SASA), which assessed the DNA of shot pigs in Scotland, highlighted that feral pigs originated from a wide mix of wild boar, domesticated pigs and hybrids.