Not again.......! Feral Hog Control in East Texas

[Flintknapper]

LWYM425 wrote:

Flintknapper,
I'm sure after the Xth time you're tired of cleaning, butchering, and even eating pork... But are there any creative ways you've found of getting rid of these pigs?

Yes, as much as is possible I try to utilize the meat resource. I do not eat them....but make every effort to contact persons who do. Sometimes (as with this group) we fall into a situation where everyone already has a "freezer full".

Hogs in this type of heat...must be processed immediately and the meat cooled quickly lest it spoil.

This being a weekday (and early morning)...I just could not find any of my "regulars" to come out and take them.

Do you sell them to a local butcher?

No, Texas Law forbids it. In fact, the TAHC does not even allow the transportation of "live" hogs anywhere except a regulated holding facility (registered commercial buyer) unless each hog has first been tested for Brucellosis and Pseudo-Rabies by a veterinarian.

So, my options are:

1. Kill the hogs...and do with the meat what I wish (it can not be sold to individuals or commercially).

2. Transport to a TAHC approved holding facility (sell them)

3. Have a Vet come out and "test" each animal...after which I could transport them...or allow another person to take them to another spot for processing or to be fed out.

Donate the meat? Food is food...

Absolutely, however the local (20 miles away) homeless shelter only accepts "packaged" meats, so they are not a viable recipient for me.

I'd hate to think that they just end up being waste, but at the same time after seeing how many you're dealing with I wouldn't drop any blame on you for not being frugal, per se.

I understand your position and share your concerns. I would point out however that "waste" in this instance must be carefully defined as: Not used to the best advantage.

Although I would like to see the meat resource go to a human (and needy) cause, the reality of it is: That is not always possible. Remember, I am one person on one piece of property...trying to thin out a population. There are hundreds more land owners...doing the same thing.

No one is Nacogdoches County Texas is going hungry for lack of hog meat.

It is ecologically sound to "recycle" some amount of the hogs. I have only hastened what nature had planned for them anyway. But your concern for being a good steward of the animals and the meat resource is not lost on me and I assure you...we do all that we can to see it goes to good use when possible.

Also, like mentioned above by you and many others- this isn't exactly an endangered species

No, in fact... they are not indigenous, not a game animal (in Texas) and probably number close to 3 million in this State.

In Texas, it is estimated they do about 54 million dollars worth of damage annually to crops, land, etc... (I believe that estimate to be conservative).

If you live in Texas and don't yet have hogs....count yourself lucky (they're coming).

 

[NickEllis]

Fantastic thread. Wonderful photography, as it helps clarify the situation and shows just what you're up against. I would highly suggest a suppressor.

 

[~z]

Along that note the hunters for the hungry acceptance sites will not accept feral hogs in any shape or form (packaged or otherwise) due to an irrational and unfounded fear of brucellosis. I’m currently dealing with several near full freezers and trapping/ hunting on 4 properties. Agree summertime is no time to be harvesting meat. When we want to keep “August Hogs” we will drag them into a pond immediately after the kill and do all the knife work in the water. This serves two purposes, most importantly it helps cool the meat (the fat turns to grease pretty quick) and second it helps with fleas and ticks.
Flint, keep up the good work, you are doing a community service.
~z

 

[~z]

Flint,
PS check your PM for some info
~z

 

[LWYM425]

z,
Good tip about keeping the meat cool. Q: As long as you remove all solids from the water (leaving only blood and whatever other liquid) the integrity of the stream and water quality is still ok, right?

 

[~z]

maybe not in the Pacific NW but it is ok in TX. We usually do this in farm tanks (ponds) and not USACE regulated water bodies. It results in a minor nutrient dump (maybe a gallon) into the pond.
~z

 

[Readyrod]

Flint, nice catch and thanks for the link, it answered a lot of questions.

 

[TAB]

what about the local zoo or wild life rescue. they might be intrested.

 

[Gryffydd]

what about the local zoo or wild life rescue. they might be intrested.

As in toss them into the tiger cage? Best if they're still alive, give those bored tigers something to do.

 

[~z]

TAB interesting idea, I may check into that. When my wife was in vet school on exotic animal rotation I would bring in hog and deer shoulders to bone out to feed a sick tiger they were treating. Thank you for the idea!
~z

 

[schlockinz]

I know that some exotic cat refuges usually get deer from the hi-po to feed to the cats, makes sense that you could do hogs, if it were cooler, or you could cool them down.

 

[DammitBoy]

I know plenty of guys around here who get payed about $50 per hog to sell them to hunting lodges.

The hunting lodges use the hogs to book out of season hunting packages to supplement deer and turkey hunting on their property.

 

[AKElroy]

So, they'd find where the hogs had rooted under the sheep/goat fence, and set up a booby trap with a couple of sticks of dynamite.

Rough on the occasional coyote, but it would definitely spread hog parts around the countryside.

That is the right answer; both for the pigs and coyotes; understated, elegant solution.

 

[Flintknapper]

Hmmmmm,

Never thought about donating the meat to the zoo.

We do not have a large zoo anywhere close by...but the one we do have....has a few large cats.

No doubt, there will be some ridiculous rule disallowing it...but it is worth contacting them to see, (especially if they will come pick them up).

Yeah, I kind of like that idea.

 

[jim in Anchorage]

I can't believe I read 5 pages of this and never saw wire snares motioned. Cheap as it gets and very effective.

 

[SciFiJim]

J i A - in post 43 Flintknapper used a snare to catch a boar. In previous post he spoke of his reluctance to use one because it was not selective enough.

 

[jim in Anchorage]

J i A - in post 43 Flintknapper used a snare to catch a boar. In previous post he spoke of his reluctance to use one because it was not selective enough

:banghead: Of course I missed that,its only a full page of pics:banghead:

 

[Flintknapper]

This little bugger kept tripping the doors on my hog trap....so I had to catch and relocate him this morning.







Maybe now...I can go back to concentrating on the hogs.


Headed for the hills:

 

[Jmurman]

funny stuff...I guess the coon was feeling left out, all the attention was going to the hogs.

 

[juk]

I kinda wish claymores were legal for certain instances like this. FRONT TOWARD ENEMY Keep the thread going Flint. I am enjoying this. Not only is it informative, but it is almost a drama.

 

[Art Eatman]

The use of wire snares was mentioned, which leads to a bit of thread drift: A coyote snare was set at a hole under the sheep/goat fence between two pastures. During a hunt, we found a four-point yearling buck with an antler caught in the snare. Deer will crawl under a fence if it appears a bit too high to jump over.

So, I calf-tied the little feller, put him in the truck and headed back to camp. Bunch of the guys were gathered around the campfire. Jerked the tie loose and goosed him toward the gang. First time I ever saw hunters run FROM a deer...

So, yeah, snares are addressed "To whom it may concern."

 

[MCgunner]

Awwwe. He looks so scared. My cousins had a pet coon when they were kids. Those things are neat pets.

 

[Flintknapper]

O.K., so everyone knows whenever I first bait out my hog trap…I ALWAYS place a “Corn Arrow” in front of the entrance. Just for fun (but it works).



This afternoon while dribbling out corn on a hog trail….I noticed a “pocket” dug in the side of an old Pine Stump. No doubt… the work of some armadillo, but it gave me an idea. The pocket in the stump is a little bigger than my fist…but way too small for a hogs snout to fit into. I am curious to see just how hard a hog will work for some corn.

The stump is a few feet off of the trail…so I put down a “Corn Arrow” and then placed a big handful of corn in the pocket of the stump.



Any predictions?



Follow up pics in the morning (assuming a hog comes in).

 

[SciFiJim]

How well is that stump still rooted. Hogs can be pretty strong. One of the bigger ones could probably tear off enough of the stump to get to the corn. OR another coon could find it and clean out the pocket.

 

[Flintknapper]

That is true on both accounts Jim.

There are still 3 coons around the pen trap...and they probably travel down the same trail. But...if a hog investigates...it will be evident.

The stump is old and dried out, doesn't appear to have much if any root system left. A large hog is a powerful animal and can "root" with great authority when they want to.

I would guess at the very least...we will see the front side of the stump dug out in the morning (assuming a mature hog finds it).

We'll see.