Posted on 04/11/2004 12:19:21 PM PDT by holyscroller
You can't turn a sow's ear into a silk purse.
But in Van Zandt County, a pair of them will fetch you seven bucks.
The rural county about 60 miles east of Dallas has been so overrun by wild hogs that it has instituted a bounty. For every pair of pig ears, the county will pay trappers $7.
It's the latest example of the steps being taken to control feral hogs that are beginning to overrun the state.
In its first-ever feral hog survey, the Texas Cooperative Extension Service, a division of Texas A&M University, queried 491 East Texas landowners in an attempt to quantify the havoc the animals are causing.
Ninety percent of the landowners reported seeing hogs on their property during the last five years. The average amount of damage on their property was $4,184.
The survey also showed a division between farmers, who detest the wild hogs, and hunters.
"I thought some of the people would say they liked them for extra income or liked hunting them themselves, but not one person had anything good to say about them -- not a one," said Billy Higginbotham, a Texas extension wildlife and fisheries specialist who supervised the survey.
Even with the growing anti-hog sentiments, the agency still finds itself caught between hog haters and hog lovers.
The agency holds Feral Hog Appreciation Days that try to balance the interests of landowners with the desires of hunters. Five are scheduled in West Texas counties in April and May alone.
But Van Zandt County rancher John Durgin has nothing good to say about the critters -- or hog hunters.
"Around here, we would probably hunt the hunters if we saw them," said Durgin who has caught about 300 hogs on his property in recent years. "We don't think much of hunters. When they're around, it's harder to trap. And trapping is far more efficient than hunting."
One landowner in the survey said, "I fear allowing my grandchildren to go beyond the yard as they might be attacked by wild hogs."
Wild hogs are the same species as domestic swine, but when they are released into the wild, they revert to their feral state within a few generations. Conservative estimates place their numbers between 1.5 million and 2 million statewide, the largest feral hog population in the country.
Wild hogs reproduce rapidly and have no known predators. They pose a threat to livestock, humans and even vehicles who can plow into them at night as they cross rural highways.
In the last year, Van Zandt County officials have forked over $10,731 for 1,533 pairs of hog ears, said County Auditor John Shinn.
This fiscal year alone, Van Zandt County has paid out $6,641, well over the $2,500 budgeted by county commissioners.
Brian Cummins, the Van Zandt County extension agent who oversees the bounty, said the program will probably be suspended because its budget for the year has been spent.
"We need a statewide program -- a bounty or some other way to control feral hogs -- because it can't be done at the county level," Cummins said. "Right now, they're out of control."
Bill Hanna, (817) 390-7698 billhanna@star-telegram.com
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.
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.
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.
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.
FWIW--
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
They're more related to camels, whales, sheep, and deer than to any true carnivore. Seems odd, but true.
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.
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...???
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. ;)
FRegards,
Uh.... no. Does it taste like chicken? ;-)
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