U.S. war on pigs?

[animalfarm]

I didn't make myself clear. I do not support the actions of the Michigan DNR and its the heritage pig farmers who should be supported until their day in court.

However, I have seen the damage done by the wild pigs in Texas, and I have seen and read about the costs associated with the damage they do. Therefore, even though a bounty program costs a lot of dollars to administer, one should never-the-less be set up if the issue is that severe and or that important.

The money being spent to harass a Michigan pig farmer, or a raw milk dairy, or any number of other small farm operations is money that should be spent solving existing problems such as feral pigs, but since the powers that be don't give a flying hoot about pigs rooting up the fields, its never going to happen. Even if Texas is well employed, if there is a bounty, feral pigs will be eradicated. Not enough pigs are being hunted for the sheer joy of the kill, but add a $ value to that kill and its game over. Its human nature. Greed will do what cannot be done for free. The Michigan DNR fiasco has more to to with eliminating competition and choice then with eliminating a potential feral pig problem. Smoke and mirrors.

 

[that's*satyrical]

Feral hogs are extremely lean meat--very little if any fat. Not enough to make bacon, but most people do make sausage, by mixing retail ground pork fat with feral hog meat.
Most of them yield pork chops with a center about the size of a small cell phone. Itsy bitsy.

A few restraunts have carried feral hog on thier menus--the meat has a distinctive taste--not bad, just different.
As far as I know tho, because of disease cross contamination risks, there are only 2 facilities in all of Texas that can process feral hog meat for resale. Been awhile (12 months) since I looked into that, and the law may have changed.

Dog & cat food. They ain't picky.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

My husband would happily come hunt some wild hogs. Just let us know where they are.
But as far as the gov. moving in and not allowing a person to raise pigs or anything else I resent that.
Its just our governments way of taking yet more control over our lives.
Just say NO

X2.

 

[greybeard]

I didn't make myself clear. I do not support the actions of the Michigan DNR and its the heritage pig farmers who should be supported until their day in court.

However, I have seen the damage done by the wild pigs in Texas, and I have seen and read about the costs associated with the damage they do. Therefore, even though a bounty program costs a lot of dollars to administer, one should never-the-less be set up if the issue is that severe and or that important.

The money being spent to harass a Michigan pig farmer, or a raw milk dairy, or any number of other small farm operations is money that should be spent solving existing problems such as feral pigs, but since the powers that be don't give a flying hoot about pigs rooting up the fields, its never going to happen. Even if Texas is well employed, if there is a bounty, feral pigs will be eradicated. Not enough pigs are being hunted for the sheer joy of the kill, but add a $ value to that kill and its game over. Its human nature. Greed will do what cannot be done for free. The Michigan DNR fiasco has more to to with eliminating competition and choice then with eliminating a potential feral pig problem. Smoke and mirrors.

You have any empirical evidence in the form of studies or quantitative evidence to back that statement up?

There are currently about 15 counties in Texas offering bounties on hogs ranging anywhere from $2-$15 per tail brought in. They have killed a lot of hogs in those counties, but records show that no more were killed than in years without bounties. With every landowner and every hunter interested in killing hogs already killing every one they see, a bounty does virtually nothing in regards to increasing the #s killed or the total #s in population. Studies in areas all over the south that have instituted bounty programs show negative results in decreasing the overall number of hogs or the density of the population/acre or sq mile. It's not lack of guns or hunters that is the problem. It's the animal itself.

1. A prolific breeder, at a very young age.
2. High litter capacity. (If they just had 1 offspring/breeding cycle it would be easy)
3. Extremely proficient at detecting human or canine presence because of acute hearing and smell senses.
4 Feral hogs avoid areas where they have been previously hunted and trapped. NEVER shoot one while it's in your trap. That trap will be of little use to you for a long time afterwards.

Here's the official results of a hog eradication program tried in Georgia a few years ago on 737 sq km Fort Benning. Two scenarios were suggested.

Origins of the Bounty Program
►In early 2007, resource managers
suggested hiring contractors or permanent
staff for the sole purpose of removing pigs.
►A group of influential hunters advanced the
idea of a bounty program.
►Argued that a bounty program would be
more cost effective than hiring contractors.

The bounty program was chosen as a test vehicle on 2 sections of the military base.
south section contained 3500 hetacres.
north section contained 3700 hetacres

Visual and electronic samplings were taken in each area during the bounty trial to determine if the hunting trapping was going according to plan--(are populations decreasing or increasing?)
Aurburn University was asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.
A bounty of $25 for each pig the first 6 months of the program was raised to $40 per animal after the first 6 months.
A canvass was done before the program started, and they established that there was from 1.07 to 1.92 hogs per sq km in the 2 selected bounty areas. 1.07 was chosen as the official density baseline population.
Corral and box traps were allowed.
Day and night hunting (guns) was allowed. (24/7)
Baiting with military mess hall slop and govt provided corn was provided to 2000 hunters and trappers. All had to go thru qualification testing before allowed to enter the program.
The base resources management provided the participants with $5000 worth of corral traps, 40 tons of corn. 10,000 lbs of mess hall slop were used every 6 months as bait.
Basically, the hunters and trappers simply had to provide guns and ammo as well as personal transportation.

Auburn reported the results are as follows:

Baseline density ------------ ------------ --------- ------- ------- ----------- 1.07 hogs/sq km
After 6 months 1022 hog tails turned in----- ------- ----------- --------/\1.15 hogs/sq km
after 18 months 2685 hog tails turned in------ ------- --------- -------/\1.97 hogs/sq km

Approx 2685 hogs killed or trapped and the end result was an increase in hog population--not a decrease.
Univ of Auburn Summary:
Summary
►Two thirds of harvested pigs were reported
to have been killed while hunting.
►Most pigs were reported to have been killed
during the day.
►Few pigs killed during deer and turkey
seasons.
►Very few tagged pigs killed.
►Increasing population density.

Cost per hog killed?
Cost Per Pig
►Including amount paid for tails:
 $32.50 per tail--$87,262.
►With money spent on traps and bait:
 $40.45 per tail--$108,608:
►Law Enforcement-unknown
►Administrative Costs-not disclosed

Recommendation by Auburn:
Recommendations
►Avoid bounty programs.
►Avoid extreme bait usage.
►Where implemented: stress internal control,
avoid staff participation.



It's not just that hogs are heavy breeders and have great senses. Their natural habitat and low profile allows them to go where humans cannot in southern forests full of vines, thickets, briars and other brush. Hogs are omnivores--they eat anything available. They're both daylight and night active and comfortable with either. The National forest 185 ft from my front door is typical of East Texas and most southern forests. Even now, with 90% of the foliage gone, I cannot see more than 15-20' into the forest at the most--it's every bit as thick as a tropical rainforest. A hog paradise and a hunter/hiker nightmare.
Walking thru it is a job in itself. I shoot hogs and nothing else on my property. Goin into that tanglefoot out there is a different story. Not worth it for any amount of bounty to me and most of the lifelong residents around here.

 

[animalfarm]

Greybeard,

That was a very informative post. Thanks. I can see many flaws with what was put in place, as did the people evaluating the program, but its easy to be an armchair general so that is as far as I care to comment at this point.

 

[greybeard]

Actually, it wasn't regulated enough. Fraud quickly crept into the program, which is why it was ended. Yep, that 'greed' thing you spoke of. But greed in this time also brings laziness. Why go sloughing thru a thicket day and night when you can just go to a processor and either openly or covertly make a deal to buy pig tails for a few $ ea and turn those tails in for a $40 bounty each? (that's why there was an entry for Law Enforcement costs, which Auburn Univ was unable to determine the extent of). But, the article said they expect the amt of fraud was probably less than 2% of the total payout of bounties.

One of the primary reasons for the amt of regs they had to put in place was because of the location and security concerns. Fort Benning US Army base. Fort Benning definitely needed the hogs gone, as they were interfering with training operations and vehicular traffic as well as setting off numerous alarms in very sensitive areas every night. "Is some terrorist group breaking into the ordinance bunkers at 2am or is it just another hog herd?" That got old quick.

 

[OneFineAcre]

This is very interesting thread.

I kind of see both sides here. I live in N.C and we have a feral hog problem as well. The first wild hogs were introduced purposely in the mountains for hunting. They were true European wild boars. But, the bigger problem I think is domesticated hogs getting loose and turning feral. I think NC is now #2 for hog production in country.

As far as the laws in MI, too often I think we see laws made in an effort to "do something" whether or not it will help the situation or not. I won't say anything else about that.

The reason I think that focusing on a specific breed will not do any good is that you could release hogs from a commercial farm (usually a cross of Yorkshire, Duroc, Hampshire, etc maybe 6 different breeds the companies all have there own special mix) and in 2 generations they would look completely different and be completely wild. Hogs are not native to N. America so any variety of hog is going to be invasive.

For the people suggesting you can eradicate, I agree with Greybeard, "won't work". They tried out west for many years to eradicate Coyotes and that didn't work.

We now have a coyote problem in N.C, They are not native. How did they get here? Some say natural migration. Funny, they didn't migrate for a million years.

No, the boys around here like to fox hunt with hounds. So we have some land owners who build "fox pens". They fence in a large track of land and capture and put in foxes. You pay X$ per hound to
train your dogs.

Well some thought if foxes were good, coyotes would be much better. Some got out.

We now have a 365 day per year, no limit, no restriction coyote season. They just allowed night hunting. Big controversy with that. Seem we have some Red Wolves in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and a couple in surrounding counties have been shot. So, the verdict is out on night time Coyote shooting.

That's what I meant earlier about good intentions. The biggest threat to Red Wolves isn't a couple being accidently shot. It's cross breeding with Coyotes.