First and foremost, you have to recognize that wild pigs are not domestic pigs. They have not lived a short life eating grain in a pen. They run, fight and forage for a living. Even a fat one does not have fat throughout the meat like domestic pork, only around the meat, under the skin. Like anything else, their condition and environment dictates how they will taste. The difference between the sexes has been covered pretty well and I will add that boars are leaner and harder to skin than sows because all the fighting and roaming that they do.
Comparing wild pork to domestic pork is much like comparing wild duck to domestic. There really is not much comparison, but it doesn't mean it's bad, you just have to understand it's different and know what you're doing.
I've handled hundreds without any ill effect.
This thread is also a reminder of how many Ive heard say antelope stinks or the meat is bad......
If I shot a rutted up boar (and have), the first inclination is that the whole thing stinks. Yes, the whole thing can stink.
I do own more than one knife and the notion that domestic animals do not suffer smells into the meat is even funnier.
I recommend one of Eileen Clarke's books if you're a novice at wild game preparation, but anyone who feeds out and butchers even domestic meat can be a help.
Cooking it also differs from domestic, but people have been doing so for centuries.
