Hogs going wild in Texas

Star-Telegram Staff Writer ^ | Sun, Apr. 11, 2004 | By Bill Hanna

[SwinneySwitch]

The SSVFD found a solution to wild hogs.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1114755/posts

[texson66]

Here's one from Albany, TX

[texson66]

For those interested.... here's the distribution of Feral Hogs in TX and OK

[SwinneySwitch]

The Cookoff is this Saturday, April 17. The picture of the Victoria A's car was taken last year. See post #21 for more details. Thanks, dtel.

[Destructor]

" Is this true of the Texas pigs too? Must be, otherwise they'd be feeding them to folks at the food banks."

I hope not. I've eaten my share of wild hog! Seriously, the only disease I've ever heard of associated with wild hogs in Texas is Brucellosis. That can be avoided by wearing gloves when you dress out the hog.

[Dog Gone]

I always had a rather benign impression of feral hogs until I saw one.

They are more like Jurassic Park than Porky Pig. They are huge monsters.

I have no doubt that they'd gladly kill me and eat me.

[TexasBarak]

In south Texas they also have a Javelina pig, which I believe is some kin of the European boar.

We refer to javelinas as "hogs", but they are in fact peccaries (banded peccaries, if memory serves). They're not very big, or fierce, if I've heard right.

[Free Trapper]

Raise the bounty.

Wild hogs can tear up the land bad enough to start erosion problems.They're hard on wild critter populations along with being dangerous for domestics and humans.

Hogs can spread disease to domestics....their bad points go on and on,this is one critter that needs to be wiped out and I don't say that lightly.

[Osage Orange]

See that big county up next to the KS border...a bit right of center? That's Osage Co, OK...and we have feral hogs here too.

FWIW--

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

For a moment I thought the Arkansas Razorbacks had thumped the Texas Longhorns and other Texas teams.

[dtel]

From what I have seen and read, if prepared properly there is no danger in eating the wild pigs in Texas.
You surely wouldn't butcher and consume any animal that wasn't healthy and robust.
As far as food banks, the 'hog problem' is not well known outside of rural Texas. Once they invade the cities and start ripping up the bermuda lawns and azalea bushes there will be a hue and cry to 'do something'.
It is estimated that there are around two million wild hogs in Texas right now, it is expected they will double their population to four million within ten years. This is about twice the white tail deer population we have right now.
It will be a HUGH problem before long.
Very SERIES too.

[Syncro]

Wow that is neat.

I hope it is in good shape, if so you can clean it up and varnish it.

I have a picture of a Javelina shot by one of my ex-wife's ex-husbands...I'll have to see if I can find it.

I once found a cat carcass up in the woods that had died sometime before hand.

It's skull had been picked clean by elements and ants, etc so I took it home and cleaned it up and coated it with varnish. The lower jaw fits nicely into the top half and is quite a conversation piece.

As is my rabbit's foot that fell behind a shelf at the World Famous Treehouse gift shop where I worked years ago. It is just bones, looks like a little hand...it is funny to ask someone if they would like to see my rabbit's foot and I put it in their hand. It has been dropped many times...LOL

[VadeRetro]

They are fairly dangerous, and don't forget, related to bears... except they don't have claws.

They're more related to camels, whales, sheep, and deer than to any true carnivore. Seems odd, but true.

[dtel]

Here is what a typical bunch of ferals looks like in these parts. Notice the spotted ones, they are pretty numerous. It seems the white coloring tends to get bred out pretty fast.

[okie01]

"Barbecue pork is sounding better and better all the time. Surely the Texans can come up with a way to make a festival out of this opportunity?! ;-)"

We're one step ahead o'ya...

WILD HOG COOKOFF -- Swinney Switch, Texas (April 17)

If it moves, you can barbecue it.

Ever tried armadillo...???

[Free Trapper]

Osage County,I love it but it's too long since I've had real time there. :(

I'm on the Red River in South central Okla. in the dark blue area on the map.Nearly all of the hogs around here are the ones that have reverted to the more feral type.Dark color,longer hair,etc.

A while back,a hunter got lost near the River and some of the Search and Rescue guys were pretty spooked by the time they got out of the brush because the hogs are so thick.

From personal experience,I could add a lot of blue to that map in Okla. and there are places in Mo. and Ks. that are having hog problems now that not long back didn't have any at all.

About the only thing as bad as hogs are trap thieves but I do know of at least one of them that's decided stealing traps isn't a very healthy enterprise. ;)

[Osage Orange]

Maybe a hunting trip is in order...!!

FRegards,

[TXBSAFH]

Pork the other white meat. ;)

[beebuster2000]

that's not the issue. we have a wild hog problem in California as well. but the local state game guy told us- you can kill 80% of them per year and still not effect the overall number- they breed that fast. so hunting doesn't work. here , they bait the whole herd, into a fenced area, and then kill them all. that only works sometimes.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Ever tried armadillo...???

Uh.... no. Does it taste like chicken? ;-)