I WAS somewhat amused by the letter written by J Hicks of Yelverton (Letters, March 8) on the subject of the wild boars on Roborough Down, which seems to me entirely to ignore a simple fact. In my 20 plus years' experience of walking both on the remoter parts of Dartmoor and on its more public fringes, I have found that the most dangerous animal it is possible to encounter is, I fear, the domestic dog. Let me stress that I am not anti-dog or dog owner, and while I do not now own a dog I have done so in the past. Nevertheless, I cannot ignore the fact that over the years I have had my clothes soiled by the muddy attentions of friendly dogs, been barked at and threatened by aggressive dogs, and on several occasions had to adopt aggressive-defensive tactics myself in order to avoid being bitten by out-of-control dogs. I have seen sheep chased and cattle and ponies harried by dogs, and I was present at a potentially nasty incident when a young rider was very nearly thrown from her horse after it had been frightened by a barking dog. It is a sad but noticeable fact that the owners of dogs sometimes fail to control their animals as they should, nor do they always recognise that behaviour they are willing to forgive may be regarded as distressing and unforgivable by those on the receiving end. If the concern is about public safety in areas heavily used for recreation on the fringes of the moor, then logic dictates that the first animal to be banned should be — the dog. Be assured that is certainly not what I wish to see happen, I am merely attempting to introduce some perspective into the matter. The wild boar is by nature a shy creature, and like most wild animals is unlikely to become aggressive unless it feels threatened. In many developed countries, for example Australia, USA, Canada, as well as parts of Europe, people have to coexist with creatures such as bears, wolves, pumas, crocodiles, alligators and venomous snakes, and not just in remote areas, but in the settled countryside and sometimes even in suburbs. If their reaction was always to kill anything that posed the slightest threat, what a poor world this would be. Britain once had a very rich and varied fauna but alas, to our collective shame, most of it has long since been destroyed. Surely the people surrounding Roborough Down can find ways, individual and collective, to get along with a few returned fugitives from our natural past. Celebrate the fact that these creatures are back, be proud of them, look out for them and please protect them. K M Jones 100 Whitchurch Road Tavistock