Scimetrics, the maker of the only U.S. EPA ­approved feral hog pesticide, has withdrawn its
registration application in Texas.

Many groups, including hunters, animal rights advocates, environmentalists and meat processors, had threatened to sue over the chemical's use.

But the fight over the warfarin based poison may return. Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller had
championed the chemical, and the company can reapply.

Last week, Texas House lawmakers approved a bill that would have required testing of the poison
before public use, a move against Miller. A similar bill is pending in the state Senate.

Rural Texas faces a feral hog epidemic (Morgan Smith, Texas Tribune, April 25). — NB

That's BS, just threaten to sue and everyone shuts down and hides. WTF has this country come to?

The way things are headed, I'm glad my times here is about up.

George

In today's world even the mention of some kind of toxin being intentionally introduced into the environment is going to generate a lot of negative response, and NOT just from the "Greenies".

I attended a feral hog seminar at a Farm & Ranch show in Wichita Falls back in early March that was conducted by a professional wildlife management company that is working in conjunction with TP&W on finding workable solutions for the hog problem.

After the workshop I ran into a few of the landowners that live around Olney, and while they are concerned about the situation with the numbers of hogs in the area, they expressed negative thoughts as to the idea of poisoning.

George, if you own a business, it is not BS, just a risk assessment calculation. You always have to play the "what if" game AND check your insurance. It probably went something like "If one sues, we can survive, but our profit margin goes to shit. If two sue, whether or not we win, we file for bankruptcy."

When you own a family business sometimes it is best to fold your cards for that hand and play the next one. Just look at how many farmers Monsanto has put out of business.

Although I do not live in Texas, I think the whole thing stinks. Why the rush without what some believe to be adequate testing? Would the proper testing cost more than the law suit? Who paid whom?

I'm no tree-hugger, and I hate hogs; but, as someone who makes part of his livelihood off the land, I'm concerned about dumping a bunch of poison into the ecosystem willy-nilly. Also, as a retired government employee, I'm fully aware that one of the three big lies is "I'm from the government and I'm here to help you".

Addressing the problem that feral hogs are creating in Texas, is the problem.

There is no easy solution/answer. Shooting any/all hogs on sight helps, as does aerial hunting with helicopters. Trapping is an effective method and probably the most effective, but folks trapping the damn things are doing so for supplemental income, and the only hogs most of the buyers will pay for are the 100 pound and over, anything under that is basically garbage, and at .25 cents a pound, a trapper has a damn hard time paying for fuel and bait to run enough traps to realize any money to pay for the effort.

As has been seen on here before, people complain that if Texas has such a BAD problem, why don't landowners simply let whoever on their property to shoot the things.

There are issues such as liability, both for the landowner and their neighbors. Feed expense because the land owners or the folks leasing their land for deer hunting are feeding the deer and turkey, the pigs are an incidental aspect.

So for a landowner, someone that works for them will have to be involved, making sure hunters are not trespassing on to neighboring properties, hunters are closing and/or locking gates, and 101 other things that can cause the landowner grief.

There is no easy answer to the problem, because Feral Hogs are a bigger ecological nightmare than Fire Ants!

Larry:

I had my own business. I never had any of my 285+ customers stick me. Not less than 50 I never met or talked to even. They left their dirty products and list with the other guys and I took the new stuff back the next week and they all mailed their checks right away.
Back in '85 doing $150,000yr working it alone and not a single one got to me.

I stand by what I stated above.

Randall: we understand your points well.

George

"Trapping is an effective method and probably the most effective, but folks trapping the damn things are doing so for supplemental income, and the only hogs most of the buyers will pay for are the 100 pound and over, anything under that is basically garbage, and at .25 cents a pound, a trapper has a damn hard time paying for fuel and bait to run enough traps to realize any money to pay for the effort."


Randall-has anyone proposed using tax dollars, instead of for poison, to subsidize trapping? Not sure of the cost/benefit analysis, but on the surface, it seems like a good combination of economic stimulus and environmental problem-solving.

I can remember back ion the later 50's/early 60's when counties in Texas paid a bounty on coyote scalps.

I think if either the state or the counties offered a similar deal on feral fogs we might see some relief.

I do not know if there will ever be an easy solution,

George, saying that you would know several of those few customers you had were threatening to sue and not even considering the financial impact is just stupid. That is all they did and made a decision. I agree that this sue happy society is nuts, but to say several people threaten to sue and they shouldn't care is, at best, careless.

For them, it was probably a good decision. I applaud them for not going bankrupt and jeopardizing their kids futures just for that one state approval. They can live to sell more.