Posted on 08/04/2017 1:28:46 PM PDT by marktwain
Feral pigs in Australia are a serious pest. They destroy habitat and native species, and inflict large amounts of damage on crops. They are a favorite target of local hunters who shoot them as often as they can.
Few people in the area near Quirindi (200 miles NW of Sydney), eat the wild pigs that are shot. I was puzzled by this, as meat prices are high, and the wild pork that I have eaten in California and Texas was excellent.
One of the reasons for a lack of consumption is the feral pig population is a reservoir of brucellosis suis, which can be transmitted to dogs and humans.
Gunnedah, NSW, is about 50 miles from Quirindi. The veterinarian, Tina Clifton, is urging care by the Gunnedah community following two confirmed cases of Brucellosis in dogs in the area. Brucellosis suis is the variety of Brucellocis found in pigs.
The Brucellosis suis (pig brucellocis) is not a threat to the area cattle. There is a feed lot within two miles of where I am writing that produces 55,000 head of cattle a year, with a capacity of 20,000 at a time.
Pig hunters use many different methods in NSW. Nothing seems outlawed, but the use of semi-auto firearms requires a special license. My hosts used to hunt wild pigs from a helicopter with semi-auto rifles, shooting as many as 120 a day.
Helicopter hunting now requires a special license for both the pilot and the shooter. The farm helicopter was sold years ago. Shooting at night with spotlights is common, as is the use of dogs. Non-firearms license holders can legally shoot pigs if accompanied by a licensed gun owner.
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
Ping
Ya, and also just ordered a rail for my .40Smith to hang a laser sight on it.
Some of those wild pigs are the size of a Volkswagen. There was a movie about it years back. (BMT)
Also, using a 12ga just irritates them.
Black I take it?
I need to myself something like that.
I have a .45 1911 Remington, but it is in blue steel and can't really do attachments on it.
I love it but I do wish I could accessorize it. A .40 Smith sounds right up my alley.
Yep. Black;. It’s an M&P Shield. Short trigger throw/return and no safety. Hole in top of receiver to see if a round is in the chamber. I keep it loaded with a round, just point and shoot. Waiting on the rail to add a laser sight. My Ruger MKIII .22 has a laser sight and it’s sighted to fifty feet. My dad ordered up a Recover Tactical CC3 H 1911 Grip & Rail System - Black
Sold by: Zahal - Israeli Tactical Gear
$39.95 so he can add a laser to it as well.
Maybe a Pig-Proof Fence.
Research indicates about 10 percent of Texas feral hogs test positive for brucellosis bacteria. But in some pockets of the state — East Texas in particular — brucellosis infection rates as high as 20-25 percent have been documented.
It can be caught by cleaning feral hogs after hunting. It causes mild to severe flu like symptoms and lead to liver failure regardless of the severity of symptoms.
It is also known as pseudorabies. It can be transmitted to cattle from feral hogs.
A loose statement there, because it depends on the target distance and shotshell used. A#4 or smaller (e.g., #3, 00-buck, etc.) would do good damage on a hog at 200 feet or less. However, getting that close is nearly impossible in the open.
Wonder what a pig-proof fence looks like. I watched feral pigs dig up a field by lightly raking their tusks over the terrain. The soil boiled up as the tusks cut through several inches of hard-packed ground as if it were butter. In a few minutes, a massive amount of “tilled” terrain was seen around each beast with tusks.
Ever seen one the size of a VW?
Ever seen one the size of a VW? Oh, and charging? With huge curving tusks? A 12ga slug would ski right up the slope of their huge lowered head.
The reference is to Australia’s rabbit proof fence that spanned the continent to try to prevent the spread of the imported pasts. The Rabbit Proof Fence was a really good movie, one of only a couple I ever rewatched.
Brucella is a hell of a lot easier to kill than trichinosis cysts and we all know that you simply don’t eat under cooked pork. It must be the fear of contracting it from handling the freshly killed animal. Certainly a dog biting a wounded or even dead pig could contract Brucellosis.
Weingarten’s article falls flat after he writes, “You can protect yourself, your family and dogs from brucellosis and other diseases that animals may carry by following these steps:” and then he doesn’t list them.
“Some of those wild pigs are the size of a Volkswagen. There was a movie about it years back. (BMT)”
Razorback, 1984. Totally insane.
Yeppers, that movie. I tried to remember the name but yeah. Some of the guys I worked with in Oz went boar hunting and it took a couple of guys using 12ga slugs to bring one down. That was one fine BBQ.
No, I think it was called " Boar". But I could be wrong....
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