One eccentric socialite is to blame for California's wild pig problem

SF Gate ^ | 12/26/19 | By Katie Dowd

[NohSpinZone]

California's wild pigs are massive and ubiquitous. They can grow into 200-pound ripping machines. They tear up lawns and destroy hillsides. Their gruesome teeth can even threaten humans and pets.

And they're here, rooting up our landscaping, because of one mercurial millionaire.

[FreedomPoster]

We’re on the same page.

[EQAndyBuzz]

200 pounds? Wow. In Texas, a 200 pound wild big is called a piglet.

[Flick Lives]

Some see a problem. I see artesian free range all natural pork.

[Wonder Warthog]

“...200 pounds? Wow. In Texas, a 200 pound wild big is called a piglet.”

Yeah, 200 pounds would be kinda small for a fully grown wild pig. And then there was Hogzilla........

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/7264865/ns/us_news-weird_news/t/monster-swine-hogzilla-was-real-experts-say/

[Meatspace]

I thought it was to age 40 or 45 This guy pushing 60.

[SanchoP]

That’s what the Texas state trappers use. When the hogs get too bad they team up and the state furnishes a chopper and all the 12 ga shells they need. There’s only 5 or 6 for the whole state.

[chrisinoc]

“If they are such a nuisance, I wonder why the limit is two.”

Sorry, they must have changed the law. You can hunt as many as you want as long as you are willing to pay for the tags.

I also read there was a bill in place which would remove the wild pig as a regulated species. Don’t know what became of the bill but apparently there was no opposition to it.

[crusty old prospector]

We passed a similar law in Texas. No limits, night hunting, and no license required. You can even shoot them from a helicopter or blow them up with tannerite.

[x]

According to a 1941 society column in the San Francisco Chronicle, he advised British Field Marshal John French during World War I. “He was the man most responsible for the failure of several of the last German drives,” the Chronicle wrote.

That last quote is almost certainly untrue. I do remember reading recently that French was a lady's man and high-lifer who was always in debt. He hung out with an American millionaire who helped pay his expenses. The guy even stayed at French's headquarters during the war, and Moore must be that guy.

French's sister was a wealthy suffragette who opposed the war and ended up supporting the Bolshevik revolution. Brother and sister got along very well - she also loaned him money - until they didn't.

[samtheman]

Thanks!

[The Unknown Republican]

It’s a similar story for the European Garden Snail: https://www.kqed.org/news/10695652/non-natives-in-california-snails-humans-and-other-species

[Truthoverpower]

For those who live in the bay area , there’s a lot of them up in the hills above Fremont- Mission Peak , Monument Peak , Allison peek and in those hills to extend all the way out to the valley above Livermore and the Ohlone wilderness

Another range of mountains in the berry where there’s a ton of them is in and around Mount Diablo

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

You have to hunt them with spears. It’s California.

[PGalt]

Elizabeth Warpath could get them with hatchets. Indians are good with primitive tools.

[abb]

Looks like a grand opportunity for the “homeless” population. Teach them to process the boars, and allow hunters to whack em at will.

Not practical. Too much work involved, and homeless types are allergic to that.

[PJ-Comix]

The year before, he’d been sued by the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company for unpaid bills; the Oakland Tribune said he was spending $12,000 a month on long-distance calls — a mind-boggling $235,000 today.

And for just about 50 bucks per month today, you can make as many long distance calls you want on your cell phone. If he had that deal, perhaps he would have had more money to see him through the Depression.

[alexander_busek]

Why would he have a WWII draft card?

My (then) 50-year-old grandfather had a draft card. I suppose that it was seen as a "last-resort" measure.

Regards,