Hog Wild

[aristotle]

Pigs are trouble. In my native homeland, the Hatfield-McCoy feud erupted over a dispute about ownership of a pig. My clan was and is related to both the Hatfields and the McCoys. We formed a strong alliance with the McCoys as we were often related by blood or marriage. The McCoys were also neighbors of my clan. For a peek at my family album, do a google search of "Bad Frank Phillips"... Randolph McCoy... and Devil Anse Hatfield. Things became so heated for a while, it appeared the states of Kentucky and West Virginia might go to war with one another.

Oh yeah, don't believe anything written or said by one of those ^%$##*!! Hatfields. Also, don't place any credence in any articles published by the West Virginia newspapers or university press on the history of the feud. Only the McCoys tell it right!

 

[Brisco]

Texas causes much of their problem with hogs. Too much land restricted from hunting them.

"Texas" is not the problem with the hunting of our feral hogs here. Any person, resident or non-resident, can hunt feral hogs here in our state without a hunting license all year long as long as that person is the owner of the land being hunted on or has permission from the landowner to hunt for hogs.

TPWD: Hunting Licenses and Permits

The problem lies within the landowners themselves. Since Texas has a huge feral hog problem (last estimate was 2 million or so) these landowners that own hundreds, if not thousands, of acres of land are trying to cash in on the "free open range" of hog hunting. These landowners are doing one of 2 things to allow hunting on their property. First being charging fees/leasing their land to hunters, or groups of hunters, on an annual basis and restricting the number of "leasees" they allow on their land. One landowner may only allow 4-5 leases a year limiting the number of people on their land to 5 at a time or so. In other words, they may allow 20-25 hunters a year on their land for hunting purposes. (Deer-Hogs-Pheasant-Quail-etc)

The second problem is all the guided hunting "Tours-Camps-Retreats-Etc" that have cropped up all over the state. These landowners are cashing in on supplying a full service guided tour for "Hog" hunting. They try to keep the tours down to a minimum of let's say, 10 people per month, at $500-$1,000 each month and only have 1 camp a month. Camp may only last 3-4 days each month. The landowners that have these camps do not want each and every hog killed (they may have a couple of hundred hogs nesting within the confines of their land) so that each camp can be a "successful" camp luring others in to camp with them in the future also.

So, these landowners, the same landowners that complain to the state about the 2 million hog problem tearing up their land when the state is at their front door are making a profit off their land out their back door.

On a couple of hunting boards I used to participate on a while back, there was a suggestion to these landowners saying "Hey, how about opening up your land for a small one time fee every 6 months or so for a free for all hog hunting spree." Not a single landowner came out and said "OK". Most that answered said that if the Hogs were thinned out, then their businesses would suffer. The "State" cannot force these landowners to allow free will hunting on their lands, and when these landowners themselves only allow a limited number of people to hunt their land, they will continue to have the self created problems with feral hogs they are currently dealing with.

 

[layoutshooter]

"Texas" is not the problem with the hunting of our feral hogs here. Any person, resident or non-resident, can hunt feral hogs here in our state without a hunting license all year long as long as that person is the owner of the land being hunted on or has permission from the landowner to hunt for hogs.

TPWD: Hunting Licenses and Permits

The problem lies within the landowners themselves. Since Texas has a huge feral hog problem (last estimate was 2 million or so) these landowners that own hundreds, if not thousands, of acres of land are trying to cash in on the "free open range" of hog hunting. These landowners are doing one of 2 things to allow hunting on their property. First being charging fees/leasing their land to hunters, or groups of hunters, on an annual basis and restricting the number of "leasees" they allow on their land. One landowner may only allow 4-5 leases a year limiting the number of people on their land to 5 at a time or so. In other words, they may allow 20-25 hunters a year on their land for hunting purposes. (Deer-Hogs-Pheasant-Quail-etc)

The second problem is all the guided hunting "Tours-Camps-Retreats-Etc" that have cropped up all over the state. These landowners are cashing in on supplying a full service guided tour for "Hog" hunting. They try to keep the tours down to a minimum of let's say, 10 people per month, at $500-$1,000 each month and only have 1 camp a month. Camp may only last 3-4 days each month. The landowners that have these camps do not want each and every hog killed (they may have a couple of hundred hogs nesting within the confines of their land) so that each camp can be a "successful" camp luring others in to camp with them in the future also.

So, these landowners, the same landowners that complain to the state about the 2 million hog problem tearing up their land when the state is at their front door are making a profit off their land out their back door.

On a couple of hunting boards I used to participate on a while back, there was a suggestion to these landowners saying "Hey, how about opening up your land for a small one time fee every 6 months or so for a free for all hog hunting spree." Not a single landowner came out and said "OK". Most that answered said that if the Hogs were thinned out, then their businesses would suffer. The "State" cannot force these landowners to allow free will hunting on their lands, and when these landowners themselves only allow a limited number of people to hunt their land, they will continue to have the self created problems with feral hogs they are currently dealing with.

Correct. When I said "Texas" I meant the lack of access, not the State laws. I was not clear when I wrote that.

 

[Turtle]

Nebraska is trying to solve the feral pig problem by simply banning hog hunting in the state. By banning hog hunting, they remove the incentive to release hogs into the wild for later hunting. Kansas is looking at doing the same thing. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission use helicopters and sharpshooters to kill the pigs. Oddly enough, it's working. While there are 39 states (and 4 Canadian provinces) that are home to feral hogs, reliable estimates show that more than half of all North American feral hogs reside in Texas. Everything's bigger in Texas, including the pigs, and they got a lot of 'em.

 

[layoutshooter]

Nebraska is trying to solve the feral pig problem by simply banning hog hunting in the state. By banning hog hunting, they remove the incentive to release hogs into the wild for later hunting. Kansas is looking at doing the same thing. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission use helicopters and sharpshooters to kill the pigs. Oddly enough, it's working. While there are 39 states (and 4 Canadian provinces) that are home to feral hogs, reliable estimates show that more than half of all North American feral hogs reside in Texas. Everything's bigger in Texas, including the pigs, and they got a lot of 'em.

I can see where that might work, assuming that every feral hog or wild boar was released for hunting purposes. That is not the case in Michigan, and I doubt it is the case in Nebraska. Most of the hogs that go feral escape from farms. There also needs to be a program to insure that farmers keep control over their stock or be fined if they escape and are not recovered. I believe that the biggest reason it might be working in Nebraska is because they are really going after them and most other places are not. Also, there are far fewer forested areas there compared to Michigan. Makes it easier to see them from the air.