Good article---

So much nonsense!

It'll never work.

Just more $$$$$ down the drain.

George

Only all out war on the hogs will work.

If it is called sport hunting then it is to restricted.

High bounties absolutely no restrictions on the hunting/killing of them.

Yes there are states the have restrictions.

Fines for land owners harboring hogs.

Yes many land owners harbor hogs for various reasons.

The two most common are I can make money selling hunts.

Unless it is a high fence hunt selling hog hunts should be illegal. If they are such a pest treat them as such.

I don't want any body else on my property hunting/shooting them.

If they are such a pest and your not controlling them. Then others should be allowed to do it for you.

Sorry I heard it way to often I have this terrible hog problem. Well can I come and shoot a bunch of them?

Well no or yes if you pay me.

We just need some tigers lions leopards and jags
They will control the population and we will hunt big predators right?
It would keep crossing border illegally quite the challenge as well

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
Only all out war on the hogs will work.

If it is called sport hunting then it is to restricted.

High bounties absolutely no restrictions on the hunting/killing of them.

Yes there are states the have restrictions.

Fines for land owners harboring hogs.

Yes many land owners harbor hogs for various reasons.

The two most common are I can make money selling hunts.

Unless it is a high fence hunt selling hog hunts should be illegal. If they are such a pest treat them as such.

I don't want any body else on my property hunting/shooting them.

If they are such a pest and your not controlling them. Then others should be allowed to do it for you.

Sorry I heard it way to often I have this terrible hog problem. Well can I come and shoot a bunch of them?

Well no or yes if you pay me.

As a landowner who shoots the hell out of them and traps them as well, I don’t want anyone on my land.

The potential liability is too great. The disturbance to everything I have worked for is too great. Having people cruising around when have no idea where they are is a recipe for disaster. Further, if someone just showed up at my place to hunt, they would be clueless where to go and how to get there.

I just let someone on yesterday. Someone who has been here before . How was I rewarded? He drove where he was not supposed to be during prime time deer hunting hours and scared off a shooter buck at 21 yards.

There is your answer.

After thinking my comment above over awhile.

Once Sam's boys get to playing with things.
It's possible they "might" come up with a
way.

Take a look back 40 years at what they've
done with screw worms in cattle. I got a first
hand exposure on that deal. We (truckers)
hauled dried cattle blood from Rath Packing in
Denver to Mission Tx. Where they mixed that with
spoiled cottage cheese and fed it to billions of
'screw worm flies'.

When an outbreak in the US, Mexico, or S. America.
They'd treat a few million with a cobalt shot to sterilze them.
Then fly to the area and bombard the place. Thousands of sterile flies packed
in those small white chinese type carry out boxes.

Flies only live 5 days then laid egg's. IF either male or female were sterile, egg's were
no good.

Now then, IF they could just figure out a way to
do the same with hogs-----!

Something to think about.

George

That would be cool air dropping sterile hogs!!!!

Splat, splat, splat........

Sterilize them by shooting.

Dave

As someone that has them as well on our place. East Texas, 220 acres. That is the reason I don't let people hunt. Unless I am there and they dang sure don't get the combination to the lock. I get out and open it my self. Cameras up in the trees looking down the road even.
Several years ago we got there and a guy was fishing in the pond. We told him we were going hunting and he said to go ahead it wouldn't bother him. After we got in the blind wifey got out and went to tell him his fishing priviliges were revoked right damn now. She said the longer she thought about it the madder she got. He claimed he had permission from the previous owner. That was her mom 20 years ago and wifey really didn't like him a lot. almost like we had to ask permission to go hunting. After that all locks were changed.

Bullets have unlocked lots of gate locks.
Your wifey was right.

George

Sterilization sounds expensive.

As for permissions : To convince a local farmer that I was respectful, I wrote up & signed a hold harmless agreement to go on a guys land once. He approved it 2 weeks later. Neither of us ever had a problem because I was always respectful and always took my trash with me. Never even left a wrapper from my smokes behind.

I'm certain that lease holders & L.O.'s with feral pigs know their land better than I do. But, would some paperwork including name address phone number, driver license number, proof of insurance for bodily injury and their signature followed by a phone approval after a week or two help get rid of the low-lifes? Just give 'em a signed business card with a reg. number for proof of permission.

The hold-harmless portion with their insurance policy number should protect you against accidents.

Good for one year.
No paperwork, no insurance, agreement expired? NO permission.

There are too many "interests" to apply simple solutions. If there were a sure fire way to eliminate feral hogs, there would be an uproar from folks who make money from guiding/leasing/aerial gunning/etc. The law suits filed when Texas tried to legalize use of a toxicant bear that out. Also the agriculture industry squeals every time a potential disease is considered for fear that it will spread to domestic herds. Animal rights folks get up in arms at the thought of controlling feral hog numbers because "we humans have no right to kill them."

The only ones who are routinely in favor are hunters/habitat managers/crop farmers/ suburbanites with nice lawns/ and insurance companies who suffer the financial losses or damage to natural environments (strange bedfellows indeed).

Until the Bambi Syndrome activists get a real stake in the game and their ox gets gored, there will always be opposition to progress on the control front.

Until a method is developed that cannot be transmitted to domestic hogs, there will be no progress on control.

Until then, we'll keep muddling along with guns and traps. Each one counts as one...

quote:

Originally posted by custombolt:
Sterilization sounds expensive.

As for permissions : To convince a local farmer that I was respectful, I wrote up & signed a hold harmless agreement to go on a guys land once. He approved it 2 weeks later. Neither of us ever had a problem because I was always respectful and always took my trash with me. Never even left a wrapper from my smokes behind.

I'm certain that lease holders & L.O.'s with feral pigs know their land better than I do. But, would some paperwork including name address phone number, driver license number, proof of insurance for bodily injury and their signature followed by a phone approval after a week or two help get rid of the low-lifes? Just give 'em a signed business card with a reg. number for proof of permission.

The hold-harmless portion with their insurance policy number should protect you against accidents.

Good for one year.
No paperwork, no insurance, agreement expired? NO permission.

No offense intended sir but the farmer would be well advised to not to accept that for a variety of reasons.

1- He doesn't know the exclusions in the policy. The policy could exclude anything related to hunting for example. It could exclude anything related to guns. Who knows what it excludes, it could be anything that might for all intents and purposes make it useless to the farmer. People are often shocked when they learn what is excluded in a policy.

2- A policy number doesn't guarantee that the policy was in force . It could have been cancelled by either party to the contract.

3- Executing a hold harmless in favor of the farmer is meaningless if, for example, your stray bullet killed someone on a neighboring property.

The farmer still had potential risks whether he realized it or not.

You make some fine points. I appreciate your response Larry.
There will always be some kind of risk of peril while hunting. A piece of signed paper will only go so far. It certainly won't negate negligence. My policy (for one) has no hunting or gun restrictions. I know it well. I'll take your word that some policies could have them written in.
As for my homeowners policy, I am covered for bodily injury anwhere at least in the USA. My agent knows I'm a hunter as well and no hunting or firearms were ever restricted. But, again mine is one in a sea of policies.
At least the requirements I had mentioned will give one a chance to check up on someone before hand and the requirements might scare off a few that types you wouldn't want on your property.
Here in Pennsylvania we can run a record check online to see a persons record. A fine tool to sift out the low-lifes for any reason like hunting or employment, etc.
Drop a few for me.

I'll try to do my part one hog at a time, but my hog hunting days are coming to an end. Hogs are a wonderful game animal, more intelligent than a deer, challenging to hunt. I have a lot of respect for them. I would hate to see them eliminated entirely as a sport hunting option. Controlled(?), for the benefit of whom?

We hear of the econimoc loss to farmers and such due to feral hogs, but what of the economic gain from recreational hunting? A novel thought that will go no where, what if those that gain frome feral hogs contribute economicly to those that loose?

quote:

Originally posted by eny:
We hear of the econimoc loss to farmers and such due to feral hogs, but what of the economic gain from recreational hunting? A novel thought that will go no where, what if those that gain frome feral hogs contribute economicly to those that loose?

I do not begin to know the answer to your question. However, I can give you a bit of personal experience.

I own my own place about 150 miles from where I live. It is 700 acres. As part of my plan for deer, I have planted food plots planted with various crops. Sunn hemp, millet, iron clay peas, Alyce clover , buckwheat, etc. I am in my third year of planting . If my quick count is right , I planted 18 plots ranging from a half acre to 4 acres.

Of those plots planted with the best crops, I can tell you that without fail, the hogs wiped them out in less than a week if I did not put an electric fence up. Gone, finished totally.

When I left to go sheep hunting in August, I had a plot growing well. Sunn hemp. When I came out of the mountains and started checking my pictures , I could see the sunn hemp being wiped out to the point that all I could see was sand .

Sounds like Socialism eny. I don't think it will fly.

quote:

Originally posted by Kensco:
Sounds like Socialism eny. I don't think it will fly.

a couple things are working against controlling feral hogs

1: people are will to pay big bucks for hunting them - and people are requiring same
2: there are some small percentage of "hunters" that aren't well trained
3: there isn't a meaningful bounty on hogs
4: like all game management, it isn't the trophy class animals that make the difference -- taking a sow reduces future generations -- let's say 10 piglets per litter, 1.5 litters per year, 4 years -- 60 piglets, 1/2 die, 30 piglets, 1/2 female, 15 piglets .. 1:1 without compound interest ....

shoot a sow .. bang, down 30 living pigs and of those 15 that can make 30 each ...

shot a boar? the sow gets covered by 1 of the 15 others from that cohort

You are 100% correct about the sows. I tell my guests that all other things being equal, shoot the sows for the very reason you noted.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
You are 100% correct about the sows. I tell my guests that all other things being equal, shoot the sows for the very reason you noted.

yep .. and, since i am a meat hunter, the sows just plain taste better, most of the time

In most cases, I have to sex them after they hit the ground. Things are happening way too fast prior to that.

In a blind taste test, I question whether anyone can tell a sow from a boar by just tasting the meat.

Perhaps you are right .

I do know that down here, the big boars are awful. The younger ones not so much but they can still be bad.

Around here, a boar of less than 100 pounds is not that bad. Larger than that and one starts to take chances on edibility.

I have tried the big boars plenty of times. I have learned my lesson.

Last big boar I tried to cook we never got past the smell of it cooking to even try to eat it. It was handled correctly after the kill, in the cooler within one hour and was a very cool day. About 100lbs max for boar give or take depending the arera for me