A dog was left fighting for its life and its owner was injured after they were mauled by an Iron Age pig during a walk at a rewilding site.
Mark Shadbolt, 62, was with cocker spaniel Luna when the wild sow charged them and repeatedly sank its jaws into the pet.
It then approached his wife Vanessa, who scared it away by waving a walking stick – only for the pig to attack her husband before the terrified couple managed to escape, clutching their pets.
Luna needed major surgery at a vet’s for injuries included ‘shredded’ skin on her stomach, deep gouges on her neck and legs, and multiple puncture wounds.
Mr Shadbolt was treated at a GP’s surgery, where he received a tetanus jab for a wound on his left knee.
Luna the cocker spaniel, pictured, was left fighting for her life after she was attacked by an Iron Age pig in Norfolk
Mark Shadbolt, 62, was with his wife, Vanessa and pets Luna and Dottie at the Wildacre Estate in Norfolk when they were charged by the specially bred Iron Age sow
Mrs Shadbolt, 57, said: ‘If it had attacked a child, they could have been killed.
‘This huge black thing came came charging from the left-hand side. At first I thought it was a Rottweiler off the lead and I shouted at Mark.
‘It launched itself at Luna with a noise you’ve never heard in your life and threw her into the air.
‘Eventually it sort of backed off and saw me. I thought “This is going to hurt” and picked up my little dog Dottie and put her under my arm.’
Mrs Shadbolt, who was recovering from an operation to her foot, waved a Nordic walking stick she was using and made herself look ‘as large as possible’ to discourage the animal.
‘She backed away and I slowly backed away. Then she had second thoughts and she turned around. I think she’d heard her babies. Then she had a go at my husband and bit him,’ she said.
The ‘relentless attack’ on Monday took place at Westacre Estate rewilding site in Norfolk, where a decision was made in 2020 to use 1,970 acres of farmland for rewilding by reducing cattle and adding ponies and pigs to create natural grazing.
Experts believe the attack pig, pictured, was protecting her piglets when she charged at Mr and Mrs Shadbolt
Mr Shadbolt, a former panel beater, tried to protect his dog from the porcine onslaught
Iron Age pigs were developed 50 years ago to recreate prehistoric pigs, using a cross between a wild boar and a domestic pig.
Mrs Shadbolt, a retired child carer and her husband, a former panel beater, who live in nearby Gayton, had visited the spot before.
They followed the rules by keeping eight-year-old Luna and Dottie, a five-year-old terrier cross, on leads. But they said signs in the area made no reference to the risk from protective sows looking after their young.
They usually look out for deer and horses and walk their dogs elsewhere if they spot one. But the pig was hidden in ‘waist-high’ grass.
Mrs Shadbolt added: ‘The attack lasted three or four minutes. It was absolutely terrifying and I can’t run at the moment.
‘When I close my eyes I just see her running towards me. If I hadn’t had that stick she’d have ripped me to pieces.’
Luna’s vet bills have already topped £2,000, but they are expected to increase further, especially if she requires a skin graft
She has since returned to the spot to see if warnings had been put up and found two dog owners about to enter the field. They left after she warned them what waited inside.
Luna is now recovering at home. The vet’s bills have come to £2,000 but this will rise as she will need treatment over the next few months and may need a skin graft.
Fortunately, the couple had pet insurance – although they warned a bill might be sent to the site owner.
Westacre’s website describes the area as a ‘corridor of uncontrolled nature’.
It adds: ‘We need to do this for the insects, animals and biomass which have been lost.
‘We have a responsibility to improve our environment and to minimise the degradation of our natural habitat and try to turn back the clock.’
The rewilding area consists of one-third former arable land, another third ex-pasture and the remainder woodland.
Rewilding is controversial, however, with opponents saying it reduces food production and reintroduces predators that attack livestock.
Melvyn Bragg and Alan Titchmarsh are among those who have criticised schemes.
Iron age pics are very protective of their young, especially if there are dogs around their nest
Alec Birkbeck, the owner of Westacre Estate, yesterday risked criticism from animal lovers after he revealed the sow might be destroyed – even though she was only ‘following her instincts’.
He said: ‘In an ideal world, the pig attack would not have happened and it is extremely distressing for all concerned.
‘We are now monitoring her closely and we will not hold back from culling the animal if she shows any further signs of aggression.
‘The pig had a litter of piglets and was, unfortunately, following her instincts when Mr Shadbolt and his dog walked past her. Pigs and dogs are not a good mix, as dogs are evolutionary predators.’
He added the estate will end breeding in the rewilding areas open to the public and close stretches off if breeding does occur.
