Posted on 10/07/2010 10:22:12 AM PDT by smokingfrog
October is not be the best month to be a feral hog in the Texas.
The state’s Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples has declared October “Hog Out Month - Get the Hog Outta Texas!” as part of a campaign to eradicate the pests.
The campaign aims to get Texans to lock and load and hunt down the animals, which cause widespread damage to farmers and other landowners.
“Not only are feral hogs a costly nuisance to agricultural operations and wildlife habitats, but they are increasingly finding their way into urban areas and destroying residents’ yards, public parks and golf courses,” Staples said in a statement this week when the campaign was unveiled.
“On my ranch in East Texas, I have eliminated a number of hogs and I am asking Texans around the state to step up and join the county challenge to learn about feral hogs and how best to legally hunt and trap them in their area,” he added.
Feral hogs are mostly domestic pigs that have gone wild, with some European wild boars that have escaped from exotic game ranches thrown into the mix and bloodlines.
State officials estimate the feral hog population in Texas to be around 2 million and they are estimated to cause around $400 million in damage annually as they eat or root up pastures, crops and even golf courses.
This makes them one of the most costly invasive species in the country.
The campaign may not please some animal rights groups but Texas farmers don’t need much prompting to pull the trigger when it comes to feral hogs.
Their numbers are growing because they are prolific breeders with few natural predators and are moving into suburban and urban areas.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnews.canoe.ca ...
Wouldn’t these make numerous tasty meals??
ping for your pictures
Feed them to the hungry africans.
“but they are increasingly finding their way into urban areas and destroying residents’ yards, public parks and golf courses,”
Sounds like Acorn. Hogs have a use, Acorn, not so much.
Oh yes they will!
Lets go to the dump at midnight and kill us some piggies.
yum yum
Wouldn’t these make numerous tasty meals??
Maybe the sows and piglets.. the boar are said to be
not very good. At least thats what my former neighbors
said.
Isn’t hog hunting a big industry in TX? The hunters really don’t want the hogs completely gone.
Will they eat kudzu?
Feral Hogs are carriers of many diseases. Included are Swine Brucellosis, Pseudorabies, tuberculosis and Hog Cholera.
http://texasboars.com/articles/facts.html
I thought this was going to be about this weekend’s A&M-Arkansas game.
There are other more invasive and costly species invading our country!
Boar War.
If you like worms.
THat’s what I thought. Lots of super BBQ !!
But it IS a good month to be a FEDERAL HOG in Texas.....or DC............
If they root up golf courses, they can’t be all bad.
They are not pests they are DANGEROUS.
Uh, I’d rather have hogs than Muslims. Capture the critters and turn them loose at Ground Zero.
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