Recent hog control research

[Cypress]

I read an article the other day about some research over poisoning hogs. I read the methods and chemicals used and even though the research is showing promise and they claim that "collateral damage" would be minimal, it just doesn't sit well with me. We have had quite a lot of damage on our property from hogs and I see them as more vermin than game animals but even so I think there must be a better way. I would at least like to see the state/local governments offer a bounty first to see if that helps. Not trying to be a "tree hugger" but poisoning is usually a pretty <deleted> way to die. Anyone else get a bad gut reaction when you hear talk of poisoning animals?

 

[hogcaller]

I don't agree with it. Those hogs could sure feed a lot of needy families. Why let them waste?

 

[Double Naught Spy]

For me, it isn't about who they could feed, but stopping the damage that they are doing. Poisoning isn't the only bad way to die. Ever seen a deer pulled apart by a pack of dogs? Being out in the wild isn't a great place to be. Few animals die of old age.

However, the notion that poison can be taxon-specific somehow with no collateral damage is garbage. Ever see what happens when a pet cat eats a poisoned mouse? What happens to the coyotes, vultures, hawks, farm dogs, etc. that come across the poisoned hogs and have a bite?

 

[mr.trooper]

I agree.

Increasing hunting would not only feed the needy directly via the pork, but it would help more crops get to market in the first place.

Hogs need to be open season with no restrictions everywhere they are found - at least until they are pushed back into the darkest recesses of the deepest woods as they were in the old days.

 

[Cob]

I disagree with use of poisons, and have a hog problem... There are two foot deep holes in our yard now that you might break a leg in from their destruction, but i don't think poisons are the answer.

Even though they are a problem, i still enjoy hunting them on occasion, and once a i kill a couple - they leave, run a couple miles, and its weeks or months before i usually see them again

 

[Cypress]

I've talked to a few landowners around and most are opposed to this. The only ones for it are the ones who don't trap or hunt them already. I guess some people feel that its the government's job to take care of their property for them. Personally, I hate to see the gov't get involved in anything especially things like this. There's ALWAYS collateral damage when they get involved. I can't believe they want to ban lead bullets but are open to the intentional poisoning of wildlife.

 

[desidog]

Poisoning is not High Road, and it is not hunting.

 

[alsaqr]

Poisoning is not High Road, and it is not hunting.

My feelings exactly. The answer to the hog control problem is allowing folks to hunt and trap hogs 24/7/365. Nearly every state with a hog problem has restrictions on the hunting and trapping of hogs. Some states do not allow a hog hunter to carry a center fire rifle in the WMAs outside of deer season; OK is one of those. Some states have a season on wild hogs. Numerous states do not allow hog hunting at night with a gun; OK is one of those.

When some OK WMAs were over-run with hogs, the OWDC hired helicopters to hunt down hogs: Go figure. We are not allowed to hunt hogs at night with a gun. TX has no problem with us coming down there and shooting hogs at night using a light, night scope, laser or whatever.

I would at least like to see the state/local governments offer a bounty first to see if that helps.

Bounties are an idea whose time has come. It needs to be done ASAP. One big stumbling block exists: The panjandrums who run the state wildlife dept's are opposed to bounties. It takes them out of the equation.

Every hog i kill gets eaten by someone: Over 70 this year.

 

[Flintknapper]

Like others here, I have a hog problem (it varies year to year)....but I see any efforts to try to poison them as something that is sure to turn into a big fiasco.

Even though Texas has almost no restrictions in regards to controlling their numbers, we continue to have the highest population among the States that have feral hogs.

I can see a "bounty system" possibly having good effect.

 

[JerryM]

I think a bounty system would be good, but in TX I am not sure if one could get permission for free hunting.
Poison has some unintended consequences I fear.
Jerry

 

[sixgunner455]

Every landowner I've checked with in Texas wants money to hunt hogs on their land. That's fine, it's their land, they can do what they need to.

I grew up hunting on farms just for the asking, though, so it kind of strikes me as odd that a landowner will charge to hunt his land with an additional per animal fee. Seems backwards, if they are such a problem.

IDK. AZ is just admitting that there is a small population of feral hogs here, and encouraging anyone who sees one to kill it.

 

[Slamfire]

However, the notion that poison can be taxon-specific somehow with no collateral damage is garbage. Ever see what happens when a pet cat eats a poisoned mouse? What happens to the coyotes, vultures, hawks, farm dogs, etc. that come across the poisoned hogs and have a bite?

Exactly


Millions of vultures in India died to poisoned cattle carcasses. Vultures keep the country side clean of dead and decaying animals. With the vultures gone, rabies shot up through the roof and may have claimed the lives of almost 50,000 people just to dog bites. I read that disease and infection rate were also up .

http://dfwdesi.wordpress.com/2008/08/18/rabies-tragedy-follows-loss-of-indias-vultures/

Hogs are a pest, but poisoning is likely to cause more problems than it cures.

 

[McLovin]

poison is bad news. <deleted> hunting and predation are the answer, but no one wants more wolves or coyotes.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Every landowner I've checked with in Texas wants money to hunt hogs on their land. That's fine, it's their land, they can do what they need to.

I grew up hunting on farms just for the asking, though, so it kind of strikes me as odd that a landowner will charge to hunt his land with an additional per animal fee. Seems backwards, if they are such a problem.

Back in the olden days, people didn't hold the landowner responsible if a guest hunting on his land accident hurt himself, damaged neighboring properties, or injured people while hunting. Now they do.

Strangely, landowners are not responsible for the hogs or wildlife to which they don't give permission, but are responsible for those they give permission, at least in regard to potential lawsuits.

 

[mr.trooper]

hunting and predation are the answer, but no one wants more wolves or coyotes.

Well, more wolves/coyotes would be a poor answer as well, because they are bound to have impacts far beyond the hog population (just like poison).

In my state, both game bird and certain small animal species have experience plummeting populations in the last 5 years, thanks to the coyote boom.

What is even worse - we have recently confirmed that hogs are spreading anyway, despite the large coyote populations. Hog populations spread up from the south about 10 years ago, but until very recently were confined to a small number of private plots in one or two counties ... Now they have not only expanded in that southern range, but we have trail cam footage of hogs in the central part of the state, on both private and even some public lands (a national forest).

WE (mankind) have let loose forces we don't understand. Further introductions of species and additional mucking around are NOT going to fix this. We have to do it ourselves.

 

[sixgunner455]

Oh, I didn't answer the original post, did I. Just ranted. Dumb me.


Poison = yech. No way. I have put a poison bait site in my house when nothing else seemed to really get enough mice to get them out. Haven't seen any mice since (knock on wood, but it's been almost two years now). And we spray for bugs.

That is small, very localized, and ... I still get the willies from thinking about the casual use of pesticides. Is it doing something to me or my wife or my kids that we don't know about, and won't see for years down the road, just having them quietly in the air/on the sides of the foundation? Is it having some impact on the environment that is completely opaque to me?

But I still have the guy come spray, because having roaches and ants in my house is unacceptable.

Poison put out for large animals, others have put up lots of good reasons not to do it. It is not, cannot be, taxon-specific enough. Hog traps and rifles are.

 

[Buzzard II]

Would you consider opening your land to a hunter? Either archery or rifle or slug gun. Lots of good eating on the hoof! No way would I ever use poison! I taught Hunter Education here in N.J. for over 18 years.

 

[McLovin]

Well, more wolves/coyotes would be a poor answer as well, because they are bound to have impacts far beyond the hog population (just like poison).

In my state, both game bird and certain small animal species have experience plummeting populations in the last 5 years, thanks to the coyote boom.

What is even worse - we have recently confirmed that hogs are spreading anyway, despite the large coyote populations. Hog populations spread up from the south about 10 years ago, but until very recently were confined to a small number of private plots in one or two counties ... Now they have not only expanded in that southern range, but we have trail cam footage of hogs in the central part of the state, on both private and even some public lands (a national forest).

WE (mankind) have let loose forces we don't understand. Further introductions of species and additional mucking around are NOT going to fix this. We have to do it ourselves.

isnt that a contradiction? how can we fix it without further mucking around? i didnt intend to imply that we introduce more predators, i meant that the pigs population will continue to increase until either the predators population increases to balance the birth rate of the hogs, or the food source for pigs is reduced to stifle the growth of their population. as any species does, they will continue to multiply until the habitat cant support them.

 

[alsaqr]

Show me a state with a hog problem and i'll show you a state that failed to get serious about wild hogs early on. Texas is one of the few states that is serious about killing wild hogs. You can hunt, trap and chase wild hogs 24/7/365 in Texas.

States will finally get serious when hoof and mouth disease breaks out in cattle. The hogs will spread it like wildfire and the beef industry could be wiped out.

 

[mr.trooper]

isn't that a contradiction? how can we fix it without further mucking around?

No, its not a contradiction.

The 'predators' populations are also exploding... and they are having NO effect on the hogs. None. Zilch.

Every county in Indiana now has both coyotes and bobcats present. In many counties, there numbers are many times what they were just a few years ago... Yet the hogs have doubled their range in just a few years. The predators are simply not up to the task of taking adults, and they are not willing to risk raiding the piglets in any numbers.

Think about it - why tangle with a nasty pig when there are so many other easier species to prey on? The groundhog population has been nearly wiped out in some areas because of this; the predators are not going to move on until they have exhausted their easy pickings.

The only solution is for us to get serious about killing pigs NOW, and keep it up until they are eradicated. Even though they are still contained to a handful of counties, we are organizing groups to combat them. We have trail cams on them, and are organizing hunts for the near future.

The same thing needs to be done for coyotes, but they are heavily regulated (need a license, and seasons apply for shooting them on public land).

 

[Double Naught Spy]

WE (mankind) have let loose forces we don't understand. Further introductions of species and additional mucking around are NOT going to fix this. We have to do it ourselves.

Then we then we are doomed. Fixing it ourselves is mucking around. We haven't a clue as to how to handle the problem. We don't know what is safe. We can't even decide on whether or not poisoning is a good idea despite some of the monumental problems it has caused in the past.

 

[alsaqr]

Think about it - why tangle with a nasty pig when there are so many other easier species to prey on? The groundhog population has been nearly wiped out in some areas because of this; the predators are not going to move on until they have exhausted their easy pickings.

i've spent thousands of hours observing wild hogs. Coyotes and bobcats pick off some small pigs, that's about it. Most folks cannot comprehend just how sophisticated wild hogs are. Sows with small pigs usually travel with a group of other sows. These groups are usually shepherded by a big mean boar hog that takes care of the bobcats and coyotes. While the sows and pigs are eating you will see this guy some distance away observing. If there is a threat, a low grunt or two from that boar will sent them all running.

i watched a sow attempting to fend off a big bobcat that was trying to grab a pig or two. That sow let out a blood curdling scream; about one minute later a 250 pound boar came out of the brush, hit that bobcat and knocked it 20 feet into the air. The cat hit the ground cut up and dead.

The only solution is for us to get serious about killing pigs NOW, and keep it up until they are eradicated. Even though they are still contained to a handful of counties, we are organizing groups to combat them. We have trail cams on them, and are organizing hunts for the near future.

That's the answer. But it can't be done unless the IN game commission cooperates. Seasons on wild hogs, no hunting at night, restrictions on types of guns used and hog tags are not going to get it.

The same thing needs to be done for coyotes, but they are heavily regulated (need a license, and seasons apply for shooting them on public land).

The panjandrums who run the game commissions in some states see coyotes as cuddly, fuzzy critters that need protection.

i sincerely hope that IN hunters can reduce the hog problem in your state. In parts of OK the wild hogs have greatly impacted the deer population. A sounder of wild hogs is like a huge vacuum cleaner going over the ground. i've watched wild hogs chase deer off game plots, away from feeders and out of the wheat fields.

Get them hogs.

 

[hogcaller]

alsaqr,
I must say.....you make some good points.......even if you are an Okie! haha

 

[rondog]

I'd love to get in on some hog shooting, but I have no desire to eat them and I sure ain't gonna pay anybody to eliminate vermin for them. If I could get approval to come on a property, drop as many as I can, and leave 'em where they fall, I'd be all for it.

Do it like prairie dogs and I'm in. Paying a huge amount of money, then have to gather all the carcasses, gut 'em, clean and process 'em? Sorry, don't want any part of that. Now, if someone else wants to gather 'em up, that's fine, I'll pop 'em and drop 'em all day long.

 

[calaverasslim]

They're tearing my place up bad enuf that I allowed several close friends and relatives to hunt them. A number of strangers want to come hunt but I say no. Most want to shoot them and either leave them lay or want me to clean them. I say no to both. The people I do let hunt are the ones who eat them or give them to someone who will. Thats my conditions before they hunt.



This does not mean I will let anyone else hunt.