The story about keeping wild boar does seem ridiculous, but it originated in an article in a respected British newspaper.
I remembered
the article from the time, and I've tracked it down using the
Internet Archive Wayback Machine. It appeared on the website of the
Daily Telegraph on 7th January 2001, and its author was Daniel Foggo.
Since pages from the archive often take a long time to load, and may disappear altogether, I've quoted the relevant parts below.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by telegraph.co.uk
Father John Tolkien, a retired Roman Catholic priest, says that family members are already constantly harassed by devotees of his father's work and predicts that the extra interest generated by the films will mean that anyone with the Tolkien name will now have to disguise their origins.
"The Tolkien family is under perpetual abuse of one kind or another. It goes on all the time," said Fr Tolkien, 83. "I am anticipating endless bother when the film actually comes out." His outburst sheds light on rumours within the film industry of a rift between the Tolkien family and New Line Cinema, the makers of the film. The film rights to The Lord of the Rings have not been owned by the Tolkien family since the 1960s, leaving New Line Cinema with no legal obligation to consult the author's children.
...
Fr Tolkien said: "It's quite incredible. When I think when we were growing up these were just stories that we were told. Personally, when you've grown up with something you don't want someone else putting their finger on it." He added that many of those harassing the family were "people wanting money". Others were obsessed fans wanting to catch a glimpse of their idol's relatives. His brother Christopher was already in hiding, he said.
"Christopher, who acts as literary editor for the Tolkien estate, doesn't live in England any more and when he comes to England he doesn't use his own name. Christopher lives in France and has had some trouble recently with people trying to get at him. He keeps wild boar in his garden, which is a little bit dangerous but they are useful when people become a nuisance."
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So there you have it: a silly story, probably untrue, but originating in the Tolkien family and reported by a British broadsheet.