The dumbest thing I know of

[WestKentucky]

Except for maybe protection of invasive species like the protection of the wild horse herds, this is right up there though. Just ate up with dumb.

I can see the conversation now…
Like 80% of the people. “We have edible feral animals. Let people eat them if they are willing to work for it.”

The PETA 10% “Oh that’s sooo wrong you should never kill an animal. Let’s protest and get laws passed to fix this.”

The Gooberment “this makes way too much sense. We have to get in the way of all things sensible. Hey Andy when you finish that pork steak call this one in and put a stop to it”

Kentucky finalizing ban on hunting feral swine in hopes of slowing their advance - Winchester Sun

Because an “educated” pig is harder to track or trap, Kentucky is taking steps to prevent the hunting of feral hogs known to damage crops, woodlands and potentially spread disease. Kentucky wildlife management officials are finalizing a ban on the hunting of wild pigs in an effort to more...

www.winchestersun.com

 

[vintovka]

Sadly from what i see being told something is against the law seems to generate a response of "so what?"

 

[WestKentucky]

Sadly from what i see being told something is against the law seems to generate a response of "so what?"

Yes. More so than I ever remember seeing. There’s 2 sides of it too, the entitled group who think that they are above the law, and the poor who can’t afford to do anything other than break the law to survive. Surprisingly there is a lot of crossover on that these days. That’s all beside the point though.

 

[red rick]

I live in a rural area and there is nothing worse than a feral cat , or your free roaming house cat on small game and birds . Virginia recently made it a felony to kill a dog , or a cat . There is an exception to the law , you can kill them if they are chasing your livestock . I guess I am going to have to get a couple of chickens .

 

[vintovka]

Yes. More so than I ever remember seeing. There’s 2 sides of it too, the entitled group who think that they are above the law, and the poor who can’t afford to do anything other than break the law to survive. Surprisingly there is a lot of crossover on that these days. That’s all beside the point though.

Even the simplest of laws, including many with real public benefit, are now either being ignored or openly violated in defiance. govt needs to think before imposing stuff that loses respect for all rule of law.

 

[Eutycus]

There are not alot of Government Programs that ever worked out like they originally intended.

 

[JeffG]

Except for maybe protection of invasive species like the protection of the wild horse herds, this is right up there though. Just ate up with dumb.

I can see the conversation now…
Like 80% of the people. “We have edible feral animals. Let people eat them if they are willing to work for it.”

The PETA 10% “Oh that’s sooo wrong you should never kill an animal. Let’s protest and get laws passed to fix this.”

The Gooberment “this makes way too much sense. We have to get in the way of all things sensible. Hey Andy when you finish that pork steak call this one in and put a stop to it”

Kentucky finalizing ban on hunting feral swine in hopes of slowing their advance - Winchester Sun

Because an “educated” pig is harder to track or trap, Kentucky is taking steps to prevent the hunting of feral hogs known to damage crops, woodlands and potentially spread disease. Kentucky wildlife management officials are finalizing a ban on the hunting of wild pigs in an effort to more...

www.winchestersun.com

I see a few problems with this:

This makes no sense whatsoever. These pigs feed the hunters, and the families that shoot them.

All the trapping is going to be done at taxpayer expense. A statewide trapping program will be hugely expensive. State employees that need hourly wages, health insurance and retirement? Hunters pay to shoot them.

The void theory being what it is, as soon as pigs are trapped, and removed, neighboring sounders will move in, (neighboring states) causing a never ending cycle and no appreciable population reduction

As soon as animal rights activists get into this, none of these pigs will be butchered for food. They will end up in sanctuaries, where they will escape, and we will be back to square one.

Am I missing the point?

 

[Eutycus]

Can anyone name a State where trapping eradicated feral hogs? But then shooting them hasn't either.

 

[HB]

A similar program seems to be working well in MO. It seems to me in TX more people love hogs than hate them.

 

[vintovka]

Hmm how did it work for the buffalo's?

 

[Eutycus]

A similar program seems to be working well in MO. It seems to me in TX more people love hogs than hate them.

Not quite sure how to take that "Texas" remark. Was that a compliment?

 

[CraigC]

D.U.M.B. They're pests, you'll never be rid of them by NOT shooting them.

 

[FL-NC]

When I was stationed at Ft Campbell (1991-1999) these things didn't exist there- neither did armadillos, BTW. These things aren't refugees fleeing persecution- they are more like mongols on a conquest.

 

[buck460XVR]

Can anyone name a State where trapping eradicated feral hogs? But then shooting them hasn't either.

A similar program seems to be working well in MO.

I doubt if Kentucky believes they are going to eradicate hogs in areas where they are already established. This is probably a move to keep the population from spreading and expanding. Since hogs can still be shot on private land when doing damage, it seems this is more directed at the sport hunting of hogs where single hogs are taken and the rest of the sounder educated. It is said that pigs are the 4th smartest animal behind elephants and monkeys......and considerably smarter than man's best friend the dog. Since the program does seem to be working in MO, there does seem to be some validity in it. Since this is an attempt to kill or eliminate MORE feral hogs, I can't see it being a liberal or PETA thing, but an honest attempt by the state to reduce the spread. Here in Wisconsin, the biggest threat we have from feral hogs is when folks release hogs into the wild, just to hunt them for sport.

 

[buck460XVR]

When I was stationed at Ft Campbell (1991-1999) these things didn't exist there- neither did armadillos,

While riding motorcycle in MO. one year, while crossing Bull Shoals on the Peel Ferry, I had a chance to talk to an State Game biologist about armadillos in the state. He said the biggest effect on the armadillo population in the state was cold weather and that when there were several warm winters in a row, the population would expand greatly in the northern part of the state. He claimed than Global warming would have a huge impact on how far north the animal was able to survive. It was Mother Earth, not man that would dictate that.

 

[Chuck R.]

A similar program seems to be working well in MO. It seems to me in TX more people love hogs than hate them.

KS has a similar program and it works here too. Only land owners and direct relatives are allowed to shoot feral pigs. There's a pretty good report on it here:

https://huntinglocator.com/blog/hog-hunting-in-kansas/

Kansas banned sport hunting of hogs in 2006. Since then, the KDWP and other organizations have been working together to reduce or eliminate wild hogs completely. Their efforts have been mostly successful.

• Kansas is the only one of the states with a swine problem that has fewer hogs now than it did in 2004.
• Most killing is done by biologists through trapping. They have removed over 11,000 wild swine from Kansas during the past 17 years.

The ban on hog hunting remains in effect in Kansas. It has proven to be remarkably effective for reducing and eliminating wild boar populations.

Why the Kansas Government Banned Feral Hog Hunting: ​

The simple reason the state banned hunting is because it simply doesn’t work.

Did you know hogs are the third smartest animal species on the planet? They rank third behind the bottlenose dolphin and the chimpanzee.

Why is that important?

Because the animals often outsmart the hunters.

Here’s what happens with sport hunting:

1. Hunters find a herd and kill some of them – maybe three or four.
2. The herd of smart animals disperses and moves away from the hunting pressure.
3. Hogs breed rapidly, so the dispersed herd becomes two or three (or more) new populations.

On top of that the state created a statute to eliminate the possibility of any financial incentive having to do with feral swine:

(d) No person shall engage in, sponsor, or assist in the operation of a contained hunting preserve of swine, whether such swine are feral or otherwise, within this state. For the purposes of this subsection, any tract of land on which a fence or other apparatus is used to prevent the free roaming of swine which are to be hunted and not used solely for domestic swine production shall be deemed to be a contained hunting preserve.

(e) No person shall engage in, sponsor, instigate, assist or profit from the release, killing, wounding or attempted killing or wounding of feral swine for the purpose of sport, pleasure, amusement or production of a trophy.

So, bottom line KS doesn't have much of a wild hog problem.

 

[buck460XVR]

Hmm how did it work for the buffalo's?

...iffin' you will remember, the buffalo, like the passenger pigeon, were eradicated by professional hunters, like the state of Kentucky wants to employ, and not sport hunters. This along with the loss of preferred habitat to an animal that was slow to reproduce and slow to adapt to the change in their environment. Neither of those are something hogs have to deal with. Domestic hogs will turn indistinguishable from feral hogs after only a few months and can have up to two litters a year containing up to a dozen piglets, whereas buffalo and passenger pigeons generally had one offspring a year.

 

[CraigC]

.....it seems this is more directed at the sport hunting of hogs where single hogs are taken and the rest of the sounder educated.

I can see that. The folks that make money on hog hunting never want to eliminate them. Just sell them piecemeal. Which does nothing but make them all smarter.

I'll roll back my previous post. The PETA reference threw my brain off at 2am.

 

[CraigC]

...iffin' you will remember, the buffalo, like the passenger pigeon, were eradicated by professional hunters, like the state of Kentucky wants to employ, and not sport hunters. This along with the loss of preferred habitat to an animal that was slow to reproduce and slow to adapt to the change in their environment. Neither of those are something hogs have to deal with. Domestic hogs will turn indistinguishable from feral hogs after only a few months and can have up to two litters a year containing up to a dozen piglets, whereas buffalo and passenger pigeons generally had one offspring a year.

Exactly! The buffalo were wiped out by market hunters for their hides. Many don't realize that a lot of those hides went to conveyor belts in eastern factories, not just buffalo robes for fancy dudes. If there was money in wild hog parts, there would be incentive to wipe them out with market hunters and not just sell them one at a time to hunters for $200-$500 apiece.

 

[Hookeye]

The supposed "pig bomb" fizzled.
We were supposed to be overrun by now.

Remember the DNR of Michigan killing Russian boar livestock on farms?
Yeah, people want Russian boar for the meat LOL

Interestingly, not far from me, my state's DNR had pics of wild pigs.
They never too hold.

It is my guess that certain folks were seeding areas.

And to sell $$$$ dogs for pig hunting, ya gotta have some pigs to hunt.

So making pig hunting illegal..............that shuts down the entrepreneurs.

Also, wild pigs are supposedly smart and hunting educates and disperses them.
Trapping reportedly more efficient method.

Dunno how truthful that stuff is ( what politics involved).

 

[vintovka]

Given current govt we may be lost.

 

[theotherwaldo]

-It's a rare morning here in deep south Texas that I don't awaken to the sound of my neighbors shooting the hogs that were trapped during the night... .

 

[Eutycus]

I heard the rumor that it is due to Feral Hogs that rattlesnakes dont "rattle" as much as they used to. By rattling they were giving away their hiding place. Which made them open prey to feral hogs. I kind of liked the "warning" snakes gave. I'd say let the hogs be taken by any means (except poison). Texas even made it legal to hunt them with Helicopters.

 

[Robert]

This is under review.