Texas man found not guilty of releasing feral pigs

AP ^ | 10-24-08

[SJackson]

1 day ago

PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, Wis. (AP) — A former elk farm owner was found not guilty Friday of releasing wild pigs into the western Wisconsin countryside after a judge said the witness against him wasn't credible.

Robert S. Johnson, 55, was charged with one count of illegally stocking wild animals, a civil offense. State investigators had accused him of bringing 31 wild hogs from Texas to Crawford County in 2002, spawning a feral hog population that has caused thousands of dollars in crop damage.

The state Department of Justice was seeking $31,000 in forfeitures — $1,000 for each pig — from Johnson, as well as an unspecified amount of money to cover environmental damage.

Johnson still faces trial in November on federal charges of illegally moving elk from his Wisconsin farm to Illinois. According to court documents, Johnson lists a San Marcos, Texas, post office box as his address.

"This has been hanging over my head," Johnson said as he left the courtroom. "Now just one more thing to clear up."

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on or off this Upper Midwest/outdoors/rural list please FR mail me. And ping me is you see articles of interest. Johnson's attorney, Mark Peterson, pointed to a USDA agent's report that said Fulbright was drunk when he was interviewed....Johnson testified in his own defense, saying he traveled to Wisconsin in 2002 with an empty trailer and denied releasing any pigs. He said he planned to buy hay in Wisconsin, where bales were cheaper than in Texas.

Well, if he was drunk when he confessed, then no harm, no foul. We always apply that standard, don't we. If you're drunk, nothing you say or do can be held against you.

The excuse that he came to WI to buy hay doesn't sound credible, but I'm sure someone will know if a drive that long for hay is sensible. Presumably when one is sober.

[SJackson]

You might know the answer to my question in post 3. Is it really financially profitable to drive to Wisconsin to buy forage?

[Peter Horry]

There are Prussian Boars from Texas to Tennessee to South Carolina and spreading. I doubt anyone can pinpoint the people responsible for them. I would love to meet the hombre responsible for fire ants though.

[Welsh Rabbit]

I would love to meet the hombre responsible for fire ants though.

I don't know about fire ants, but the local legend is that the guy who brought kudzu to the US (from nearby Covington, GA) is buried in an unmarked grave for obvious reasons.

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

I’’m all for releasing hogs of any kind near a mosque.

[Peter Horry]

I can believe that. I have a kudzu basket, made by a lady in upstate SC, that I keep dry and out of the sun. I still keep a close eye on it.

[PAR35]

Well, if he was drunk when he confessed

Fulbright and Johnson are two different people.

Of course, you could always try to plead the defense that you were impaired when you posted.

[PAR35]

Is it really financially profitable to drive to Wisconsin to buy forage?

Last year in Tennessee: In Sumner County, just northeast of Nashville, the county commissioners voted recently to spend $100,000 to pay for transportation of hay from the Midwest. In Dickson County, another rural county near Nashville, commissioners approved spending $50,000 to help farmers. The Knox County Commission in Knoxville and the local Farm Bureau each put up $10,000 to pay for hay to be trucked in from Canada. http://74.125.45.104/search?q=cache:RPUgsI0Ab3AJ:www.knoxnews.com/news/2007/sep/23/facing-drought-tennessee-farmers-importing-hay-cul/+hay+drought+1992&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us&client=firefox-a

[oldenuff2no]

You really need to read this article. Read the caption under the picture of the pig. I loved the part about the hogs keeping the residents indoors!!!! This must have been written by some city fellow who obviously knows nothing about wild animals. I hunt about everything that I can legally buy a tag for and I hunt with archery gear. In most states it is illegal to carry a firearm of any kind while archery hunting so when we are hunting the only thing we use for taking an animal or protecting ourselves is our archery tackle. I've harvested many hogs at less than 30’ with a compound bow and broadheads. Not a single time have I been attacked, charged, or felt threatened by a hog.
I've successfully hunted all the North American deer, Three different species of Elk, Grizzly in Alaska, black bear in Canada and mountain lion in the western mountains here at home. I've done all of this with a bow and arrow and I've made dinner out of them all. If you can't hear your heart beating every now and then life isn't worth living. I'm not only a hunter but have worked as a licensed guide for big game is several different states. When it comes to hunting/stalking and taking big game at close quarters I do know what I'm talking about but this author sure doesn't. What kind of a moron thinks that wild pigs make people hide in their houses? Only the local killer ground squirrels make me hide like that. This author is a stupid idiot on about ten different levels. If you have a pig out back don't hide from it put some sausage in the freezer!!!!!

[wideminded]

What kind of a moron thinks that wild pigs make people hide in their houses?

A book I read that discussed some events in the Costa Rican jungle said that wild pigs travel single file through the jungle in a long line. It said that if you are hiding up a tree and can only pick off one pig, you had better shoot the last one in the line. If you shoot one of the earlier ones, the line of pigs will stop and you will never make it down from the tree alive.

BTW this book is supposed to be non-fiction and was enormously entertaining but I wouldn't doubt that that it contained some exaggeration. IIRC it was a best seller in France.

[tubebender]

Keep your Hogs in the dang garage next to the BSA...

[SouthTexas]

Grandsons’ hogs are all locked up, but they will be moving them today or tomorrow.

As wife says, they’re going to get their ears pierced.

[MeanWestTexan]

“Is it really financially profitable to drive to Wisconsin to buy forage?”

It’s not out of the question, no. But it is on the long side.

[MeanWestTexan]

“Is it really financially profitable to drive to Wisconsin to buy forage?”

It’s not out of the question, no. But it is on the long side.

[deport]

. Is it really financially profitable to drive to Wisconsin to buy forage?

---

I can’t answer specifically for this period and the ranchers prospects. But Texas has gone through some fairly severe droughts in which hay was at a premium if you could find any.

DROUGHT RETURNS TO TEXAS AGRICULTURE, RESULTING IN $316 MILLION IN LOSSES [2002]

http://newagnews.tamu.edu/dailynews/stories/DRGHT/Jun1202a.htm