Posted on 01/05/2016 10:47:53 AM PST by jazusamo
A county in Central Texas is winning the war on feral hogs one tail at a time.
Caldwell County has become the Lone Star State's front line in the fight to curb the exploding population of the wild beasts, which cause millions of dollars in property and environmental damage every year. A volunteer task force has found success using a host of strategies including $5 tail bounties, helicopter hunts and smartphone-controlled corrals.
"We're probably the most coordinated program in the state," Nick Dornak, founder of the county's Feral Hog Task Force, told FoxNews.com.
In the two years since it was founded, the task force has helped kill or capture 10,000 of the wild swine, providing a model - and hope - for other counties dealing with the nearly 20-year-old wild hog boom.
The feral hogs -- which are much larger, meaner and wilier than their farm-raised cousins -- destroy crops, break farm machinery and pollute rivers and streams. Dornak estimated the hogs cause $2 million in damages every year in the agricultural community, devouring crops and digging ruts that damage tractors and other equipment.
When they are not sowing a path of destruction, they are breeding, he said. Sows can bear two litters per year, with each litter consisting of up to a dozen.
"One hog can become 200 over the course of two years," Dornak said, noting that 70 percent of the hogs must be killed each year just to maintain current population levels.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I understand it takes two of any mammal even though feminists are trying to change that.
Of course, the boar can get around, so maybe the ratio is 200 to 1.1.
They really don’t get a lot of meat off of these pigs. Shoulder and ham butt/thigh.
I’ve tried it, and its ok I guess - but my delicate tongue is too used to domesticated pigs.
But it makes for a good ‘cheapo’ hunting trip.
“Younger hogs taste better than older hogs.”
The smell is a bit different too. We hunt w dogs and knives and you know when you’ve come across a big male. Talk about stanky!
Funny you don’t really notice until after the kill, what with all the excitement.
I’ve seen the heli shoot videos and IMHO that isn’t humane - I think there are a lot of woundings more than killings. Bunch of guys shooting into the tops of bushes.
Have hunted and eaten them for 30 years in Georgia and South Carolina. Gilts and sows are better than boars, IMO. Excellent fare if they’ve been eating well (grain, acorns, etc) and are butchered correctly.
Tasty enough that quite a few anti-hunting/anti-gun progressive types came back for seconds on one I smoked for a party awhile back. This, after I told them that it was legally killed with with my rifle. Also told them I butchered it myself.
All they left was the bones.
Sorta irritated me somewhat cause I wanted some to take home....
No gun, takes the risk out of it.
Ha, I love it. Those anti-hunting/anti-gun progressive types must have had at least half a brain. :)
Send they trips top the Middle East
I don't know, the story I heard had one of the hunters put a .45ACP round into a charging boar's forehead only to have the round ricochet off the animal's skull. Another hunter had to step in with his gun from a different angle.
Slow Cooker Gnocchi in Creamy Pork Sauce
Ingredients:
1 medium yellow onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 to 5 pound bone-in pork shoulder
2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper, to taste
½ cup heavy cream
2 pounds dried gnocchi
Directions:
1. Spray a 6-quart slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Place the diced onion in the bottom of the slow cooker and top with the garlic. Place the pork shoulder on top of the onion and garlic. Pour one can of the crushed tomatoes over the pork and around the sides. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning all over and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour the second can of crushed tomatoes over. Cover and cook on low for 11 hours.
3. Remove the bone and the layer of fat on the pork and discard. Stir in the heavy cream and then stir in the gnocchi. Cover and cook for an additional 1 hour on low. Serve with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.
Note: Dried gnocchi are found in the pasta aisle at the supermarket. Do not use fresh or refrigerated gnocchi, or they will become too soft during cooking.
http://www.browneyedbaker.com/slow-cooker-gnocchi-pork-cream-sauce/
You haven’t lived until you’ve been treed by a 600lb. raging boar hog!
Most of Texas is privately owned land. Land owners want to profit by charging people considerable fees to come onto their land and shoot hogs.
Let the hogs destroy their whatever. I’m all for free enterprise, but there should not be complaint one from land owners that get property damage from hogs if they won’t make it inviting for hunters to shoot hogs on their land. They need to take some business 101 course to figure out what the threshold is for fees vs. getting shooters out there.
Oh, and hogs don’t just make it easy to be shot, they’re wily animals conscious of self preservation.
Interesting......that's the first think I thought about. I wonder how many of those feral pigs make it into restaurant barbecues?
Good times....
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