Hog wild: U.S. and Texas have 'out of control' population of 'super-pigs,' expert says

[sl8]

https://www.wivb.com/news/hog-wild-u-s-and-texas-have-out-of-control-population-of-super-pigs-expert-says/

Hog wild: U.S. and Texas have ‘out of control’ population of ‘super-pigs,’ expert says

Russell Falcon
19 hours ago

AUSTIN (KXAN) — There’s a ticking time bomb when it comes to wild hogs — and the billions in damage they cause.

There are about nine million feral hogs in the U.S. And those numbers are ballooning and increasing the estimated $2.5 billion in damage they already cost in the U.S. each year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says.

That’s according to Dale Nolte, manager of the National Feral Swine Damage Management Program at the Department of Agriculture, who tells The Atlantic that the increasing numbers of feral hogs in the U.S. is sometimes referred to as a “ferral swine bomb.”

He says because they can reproduce so quickly, it’s very difficult to control the problem.

[...]

[Buckeyeblue]

1. Can you eat them?

Or is feral pork too lean and tough?

[Amishman]

3. depends on age and what they've been eating

if they've been chomping down on crops, they're going to taste pretty good. If they've been foraging in the wild, they won't have a good flavor. The upside is the most invasive ones (damaging farms) are the ones that are best for eating.

big old boars tend to be really gamey no matter what they've been eating. Even these can be used though if you do it right and have a good cook. Have a friend in Michigan with a good size orchard and a bad piggy problem the past 10 years. He says even the nastiest ones aren't bad smoked with a good rub, especially for making something heavily seasoned, like pulled pork.

[Drahthaardogs]

15. Boar Taint is not the same as gamey

And domestic hogs can develop it too. If you can taste it (some people cannot) it makes them inedible

[Amishman]

19. didn't know that!

thanks for correction, my buddy never made that distinction to me. I'd guess he's one of the ones who can't taste it.

[Drahthaardogs]

20. He's lucky. Once you have tasted it

There is no eating that meat. It’s bad

[A HERETIC I AM]

55. Is it possible that the taste you are talking about is a result of a release of Adrenalin ....

Just before death?

Temple Grandin has studied the stress level in slaughter animals for years and her methods for keeping domestic livestock calm before slaughter have resulted in better tasting meat.

I am aware of how serious the feral hog problem is, And I understand the complexity of the control problem, I’m just curious if the bad taste you are referring to is a result of panic in the animal at the time of death.

[Drahthaardogs]

59. No. Boat Taint is from uncasterated hogs

It’s well studdied

[Tanuki]

66. Can it be used for dog food?

[Drahthaardogs]

67. Probably?

Dogs seem to like nasty stuff. My sister’s dog thinks cat shit is like candy so I can’t see them being too discriminating.

[octoberlib]

4. According to this website it's tasty.

Yes, meat from feral hogs is extremely tasty and much leaner than penraised pork. The meat from older boars may be tougher and rank tasting if not prepared adequately. As with all pork, care should be taken and the meat well cooked. Otherwise, it should be prepared just like market hogs. The slower the meat is cooked, the more tender and tasty it becomes. tpwd.texas.gov

[Arkansas Granny]

5. Yes, and they are quite tasty. IMO, it's best to have all the meat ground

and use as you would ground beef. I've used it for spaghetti sauces, chili, meatloaf and meatballs. It also makes a good breakfast sausage with the right seasonings. It's very lean meat and doesn't have a gamey taste if it comes from a younger animal.

A hunter I know had some chops cut from a hog he had killed. It had good flavor, but was not as tender as domestic pork.

[Buckeyeblue]

8. It sounds like they should let people hunt them

I would take a pork chop over a steak most of the time. I think pork has a better natural flavor than beef. And it's more versatile to pair with side dishes.

[Arkansas Granny]

21. Here in Arkansas, feral hogs can be hunted year round with few restrictions.

Hog Hunting and Shooting Regulations
On Private Land
Feral hogs may be killed or trapped year-round, by a landowner or anyone with the landowner’s permission (except anyone who has had his or her hunting license revoked).

On Public Land

Dogs are not allowed for hunting feral hogs on WMAs.
Feral hogs may be killed by hunters who are hunting bear, deer or elk during a firearm season with weapons legal for those seasons, except on the areas listed below.
Hogs may be taken incidentally with archery tackle from Nov. 1-Dec. 31, during open bear, deer and elk seasons, except on the areas listed below.
Feral Hogs may NOT be taken on the following WMAs and National Wildlife Refuges

https://www.agfc.com/en/hunting/feral-hogs/#:~:text=Hog%20Hunting%20and%20Shooting%20Regulations&text=Feral%20hogs%20may%20be%20killed,or%20her%20hunting%20license%20revoked).&text=Dogs%20are%20not%20allowed%20for%20hunting%20feral%20hogs%20on%20WMAs.

I tell people to think of feral hogs as free range pork. No hormones, no antibiotics.

[LeftInTX]

27. I'm pretty sure feral hogs can be killed year round in Texas

They're an invasive specie, like rats.

Remember Rick Perry shooting feral hogs from a helicopter?

[susanr516]

45. It's been legal since 2011 in TX

I don't know if the term was used statewide, but in south TX, we called it "pork-chopping."

[LeftInTX]

48. Pork chopping!

I'm surprised it wasn't legal earlier. They really are trouble. One of my friends saw them in San Antonio city limits and so did someone else on Nextdoor.

[Blue_true]

40. One DUER that is a hunter says that wild hogs may carry a disease that

makes them unsuitable as food for humans. They can also pass the disease on to domesticated hogs.

[Drahthaardogs]

68. It's trichinosis

Domestic pigs can carry it too, especially pasture raised pork. Cooking thoroughly kills it.

[Blue_true]

69. Thanks. So a person can harvest a wild hog, but the cooking needs to be done long enough to

kill what’s in the meat?

[Drahthaardogs]

71. Yes. Bears carry it too.

Cooking and/or curing kills the trichina worm larvae

On edit: even freezing it long enough will kill the worm

[Hekate]

77. No pink left, was my mother's credo...

When we lived in SoCal, a large family (Puerto Rican by way of New York City) moved in next door. Mom liked to try her college-Spanish on the matriarch, and the lady laughed and laughed at Mom’s accent.

So one time they decided to have a feast for their extended family, and brought home a live pig to eventually BBQ. They shared a plateful of the cooked meat with Mom, who thanked them profoundly and immediately popped it into her own oven.

As far as any wild meat goes, I know the old cook book I got after Mom passed had all kinds of information in the back about cooking game (make sure you get the shot out of the birds), something none of us ever needed, but it made interesting reading. There’s got to be a lot of info out there on the internet, both ancient and modern.

[Blue_true]

78. Meat didn't come cut up in nice packages when you Mom learned how to cook.

Meat often had problems that a cook had to fix to make the meat eatable.

[sl8]

84. Example of cafeteria that didn't cook long enough.

[Hekate]

70. Trichinosis? It's the only one I know of, and is killed by thorough cooking.

Underdone meat can lead to humans getting it — it gets in the muscles and is very painful to live with.

My understanding is that farm-raised hogs don’t have trichinosis.

Mind you, this is information taught to me by my mother when she was teaching me the ins and outs of cookery as a child and teenager from the 1950s - 1960s. There might be other things today.

I agree with those who think part of the solution to the wild pig problem is to encourage hunting. We humans have a remarkable capacity to wipe out entire species by hunting when we’ve decided something is tasty or the hide is wearable. Every time I read about an invasive species that is doing real damage and is also edible or useful in its original environment, I wonder why the hell don’t we let hunters do the work they love.

[Blue_true]

72. Some people won't want them hunted. I say hunt them, as long as people

stay specific distances from dwellings and are limited on the caliber of gun they can us. Pigskin can be used to make leather.

For an invasive species, I am fine with hunting it around the clock and selling the products to willing buyers. Think of how many hunters that don’t have jobs right now could be making money to pay bills, while helping to get rid of a problem.

[safeinOhio]

2. I don't eat pork, however

I would eat feral hogs.

[Solly Mack]

6. I used to go to the swamp in Georgia to catch a glimpse.

The big male would hit the dirt road first, stand there, staring at me, the driver, daring me to inch closer. I didn't. He could have taken out my Sentra.

The females and the babies would cross the road and the big male would then slow walk his super large body the rest of the way across.

I'd sit still a minute more to give them time to fully enter the woods.

Incredible thing to watch.

[3Hotdogs]

7. Pen raised.... "garbage fed" hogs taste better than factory raised.

Don't worry. The plate waste and factory food production waste is boiled for two hours before given to the animals. Its closest smell is like beef barley soup.

[Blue_true]

41. That was how country hogs were raised when I was a very young boy.

African American farmers stayed with the method longer than White pig farmers, because the “slop” was cheaper, restaurants were more than happy to save it, if farmers picked it up each day. It contained food waste and vegetable trimmings. My uncle would boil his about 3 hours after work, let it cool covered overnight and part of the day and then “slop” his hogs after work. He used mostly slop, but also used commercial pig feed.

The resulting pork was much better tasting, the stuff I get in a supermarket the times that I buy pork simply doesn’t compare on flavor. Also, things like sausage and bacon were much better tasting, my uncle would have a butcher cut up a hog and some of the resulting meat would be made into sausage and fresh (uncured) bacon.

[3Hotdogs]

43. There is a a garbage feeding hog farm in N.J. There were 38 in N.J. when I got into food waste

recycling. Now there are 4.

Back to the farm...The owner's father raised pigs and his son followed in his footsteps. One of the 38 wanted out of the business and sold it to a company that was going to make a fortune out of factory farming. They had ag. degrees from somewhere.

Anyway, the factory farm lasted two years. Then Jim bought it and put 2,000 pigs on it. He takes the plate waste and food prep waste from the A.C. casinos and other restaurants. He charges less than the garbage bill. He makes money and the casinos have "cost avoidance."



I got my Recycling Certificate from Rutgers. My paper was on fraud and illegal disposal activity in N.J. Most of the recycling operators are operating within the laws but some illegal stuff still shows up in the local newspapers.


The title of my research paper was a quote from the president of a sanitation company that I interviewed. "It don't matter about the fines as long as the money is there."

[Blue_true]

49. Do the 4 farms do good business selling pork and pork products?

One issue that could possibly be an issue is that most Americans younger than 50 have no idea of how delicious food waste fed pork it. They are likely repulsed by the concept. If done right, it produces clean pork that tastes delicious. My uncle used to also administer medicines to his pigs, I think there was a requirement for that to be done if he was going to sell them to market.

[3Hotdogs]

51. No. The money is in competing with the garbage man.

Garbage rates go from $60 to $100 per ton. Pig guys charge $30 to 50 per ton, depending on the tipping fee at each county's transfer station. They don't have a tipping fee.

Feeder pigs go for $15-20 per pig. Some die. They get sold for, say $100 because the small slaughter houses are competing with Smithfield and so forth.

[Blue_true]

53. Would the farms banning together to do a marketing campaign

on the flavor of food waste fed pork help? I would guess that the small slaughterhouses would also need to be part of the effort.

Like I said, I doubt that many people under 50 have ever eaten food waste fed pork. Most likely view it as disgusting (which is way wrong)

[3Hotdogs]

62. Not in New Jersey. Just about every town and village has implemented zoning

regulations to limit the introduction of new farms to around 10 to 100, depending on how the particular town writes the ordinance.

Add to that, water pollution regulations. Several of the older farms were "fined" out of business for polluting ground water. Rural N.J. towns use well water and its kind-a not fun when the water out of your tap starts smelling funky. 2,000 pigs can generate a lot of funk.

[Blue_true]

65. I see. nt

[csziggy]

75. Before we bought our place it was a hog farm

One of the sons worked at a local steak place and brought home all the organic waste to feed to the pigs. Mixed in was a variety of other stuff - bent forks, knives, spoons, broken plates, cups, saucers, and bowls. The most amazing things were the mustard and mayonnaise packets. We've owned this place since 1978 but we still find those packets - in one piece with the print readable.

Apparently the pigs they raised were pretty tasty - they sold them to the local place that makes and smokes their own bacon and sausage. That store has been on the historic register for years and is famous for their great smoked sausage - they use the same smoke house that was built when the store was started.

https://www.bradleyscountrystore.com/

[leftyladyfrommo]

9. I thought this was about Republicans. nt

[H2O Man]

39. It is.

Republicans should be cooked very well in order to be safe for dining, as they carry parasites. Or are parasites, for that matter.

[Le Roi de Pot]

10. There is one in the Whitehouse too

[callous taoboy]

11. I worry about them on my walks at Enchanted Rock,

have been seeing a lot of recent damage from them out there. But they are mainly nocturnal, right?

[Lars39]

13. Get too close to their young and all bets are off.

[callous taoboy]

32. I stick to the trails and keep myself aware.

[Lars39]

33. That's good!

My parents used to hike in the Smokies...they were more afraid of coming up on wild boar than the bears.

[callous taoboy]

57. My brother finally bought a hog trap.

They were destroying the bottomland on his property. He's trapped some big ones, and they are pretty scary. He dispatches them and leaves them for buzzards and night scavengers.

[Lars39]

58. Didn't know they made traps that big.

I bet that’s a sight.

[mitch96]

12. I watched a program where farmers in Texas would let hunters on their property to hunt hog..

Daytime was hard so they went at nite with night vision goggles, thermal imaging and high power rifles.. The farmer said it did not make much of a dent. Maybe introduce a breed of feral hog that passes on sterility? They did it with mosquitos...
m

[Drahthaardogs]

17. My German dogs hunt them

Put a cut vest on them and let them go! They are fearless and don’t just bay, but will go in and grab them. It’s amazing how genetics work. The German still breed for hardness on fur because they hunt boar a lot. Americans generally don’t. The same breed, different blood lines. My American bred dogs wanted nothing to do with hogs. My German dogs go insane

[mitch96]

23. What kind of dogs are your German dogs?

So once the dogs have the hog, how do you kill the hog?
m

[Drahthaardogs]

31. I have Deutsch Drahthaars

Bred to the German standard. They American equivalent is the German wirehaired pointer. The Germans have strict breeding requirements with tests and breed wardens. The Americans do whatever they want. The Americans try to say they are the same dog. They are not.

[mitch96]

37. It's like the beer standard in Germany. If it's not made to the law it's not correct..

Never heard of that dog. I have to look it up,
tnx
m

[Drahthaardogs]

42. They are NOT for everyone

But if you have it in you, there is nothing like them

[Hekate]

83. So I finally find out the origin of your screen name! Plus a dog breed I didn't know before.

[hunter]

30. We've had pig hunting dogs, and currently have a pig hunting dog.

The pig dog we have now belonged to an in-law who got priced out of housing where he could keep a dog.

Affordable dog-friendly housing is difficult to find in our area of California.

Our dog is a catahoulah. She's smart and affectionate but we can't ever walk her off-leash. If she smells a pig she's gone, there's no stopping her.

[misanthrope]

50. So that sterility becomes the dominant trait?

Not sure how that's supposed to work. Also not sure if serious or not.

[mitch96]

60. Apparently with the modified mosquitos the sterility is passed on.I can't remember if its the

male or female. They bred a shit load of them and then released them in the Florida Keys. We will see if it works. Too may mosquito borne disease down there. Even in my part of Fla we were told to dump standing water which is a breeding ground. I'm curious if it works on the critters it would work on the hogs... Just the hogs. It would be bad if it was passed on to commercial stock.
m

fyi.. https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/750-million-gm-mosquitoes-will-be-released-in-the-florida-keys-67855

[misanthrope]

63. A gene that causes sterility can't become a dominant trait.

All it can do is go as far as the generation into which it is expressed. Natural selection promotes that which furthers procreation.

[mainer]

14. You might be interested in this movie

https://www.magnificentbeastmovie.com/

[mitch96]

24. This is on my watch list.

I was told years ago that ancient pigs carried trichinosis thats why some religions banned it's consumption.. Makes sense back then. Eat pig,, get sick. Don't eat pig, don't get sick. This movie would most defiantly clear this up...
My Uncle had a small farm in western PA. He would get piglets at the state fair and raise 'em up. He had a deal with a local bread distributor. The bread trucks would take all the stale and out of date food and dump it in the pig sty. When the pigs were ready for slaughter they would split the meat.. Win/win. I had a hysterical time one year when we tried to get the pigs on to the pick up truck and bring them to the slaughter house. Very smart animals and I think they kinda sorta knew what was up. Especially when we got near the slaughter house.. The smell of death hung in the air. They were processed very quickly.
I eat very little to no meat...
m

[LeftInTX]

28. Pigs are the sewer system in many countries.

They are not consumed for the same reason that we don't consume dogs and cats...

Pigs eat human feces and garbage.

I find it interesting that Europeans and East Asians for some reason began consuming pigs

[mitch96]

38. My uncle would not eat barn yard chicken for the same.. They ate feces... nt

[Blue_true]

44. I won't use true free range eggs when making cookie dough.

When I have tried them, I see to much residue in some of the eggs.

[Buns_of_Fire]

16. All the jokes about Washington / Wall Street are just too easy. nt

[WhiskeyGrinder]

18. More than 30-50?

[dalton99a]

22. Coronavirus, murder hornets, super pigs, KKK president, what's next?

[Buns_of_Fire]

25. Yeah, where's a giant asteroid when you really need one?

(We already have a giant hemorrhoid flying around holding rallies, so why not?)

[First Speaker]

29. The UFO people will finally land...

...just not, please, on the White House lawn...

[Nevilledog]

26. Damn....l don't have super-pigs on my 2020 Bingo card.

[madinmaryland]

34. Oh. I thought this was about Ted Cruz and trump. Pigs are smarter than either of those two.

[Volaris]

35. 2 thoughts:

They're supposed to make for damn good eatin...

Its incentive for leaving americas big cats and wolf populations alone.

[Blue_true]

47. I was thinking along such lines. Cull them and feed the meat to animals

that will eat it and are not consumed by humans. Wolves, Foxes, Wild Cats.

[NickB79]

36. They're not just a Southern thing. Spreading in Canada too

And surviving in bitter prairie cold winters to boot. I figure it's just a matter of time before they're in Minnesota and I'll have to defend my farm.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/03/huge-feral-hogs-swine-spreading-through-north-canada/

[Hotler]

46. A frind of mine goes down to Texas once a year to hunt hog. Brings back....

great breakfast sausage. Makes awesome gravy.

[Crunchy Frog]

52. Yes, but it's unconstitutional to exterminate them...

We have to make systemic changes so that they don't wield so much power.

[hamsterjill]

54. As with most things when a species gets out of balance

It’s because man screwed up the eco-system. These feral hogs originate from the 1930’s when boars were brought over and released for hunting. They bred with native pigs and the population has escalated since that time.

They cause a great deal of destruction. It’s sad because it’s a man made problem - one we can’t kill our way out of because they are multiplying so fast. These hogs are the target of a lot of horrific abuse unfortunately.

If mankind would only leave Mother Nature alone!

[LanternWaste]

74. Yup... we have a penchant for introducing imbalance where none existed.

And then creating even more imbalances by attempting to rectify the original problem we created.

But at least our collective irresponsibility gives sport to people who are entertained by, and receive joy from, killing sentient creatures.

[hamsterjill]

81. Exactly.

And I’m Texas, the majority of the idiots will have a Trump sticker on the back of their bubba truck.

Thanks for the response.

[csziggy]

76. Hernando DeSoto released pigs in the Southeast in 1539

When he marched his people from Florida to the NW Gulf Coast. They were a problem to the native people since they ate their corn and the acorns that were used to supplement their food stuff.

The pigs that the Spanish brought were not the domesticated pigs we know today - they were much closer to the European wild pigs.

Later the Spanish pigs were decimated, but there have always been wild pigs in Florida since DeSoto.

The Columbian Exchange of plants and animals between the Old and New Worlds has been a problem for five hundred years. Just look it up.

[hamsterjill]

79. Good to know as to Florida.

We are talking about Texas here.

My point is that man created the problem. If you’d seen some of the horrific abuse I’ve witnessed against these creatures, you would be as disgusted as I am, I’m sure. It’s not THEIR fault that they are trying to survive. Admittedly as I stated, they leave a path of destruction and danger.

We cannot kill our way out of debacles like this. We’ve got to figure out a way to sterilize or neutralize in mass. But that doesn’t need to be good ole boys cornering a frightened animal and playing tough guy with it until it dies a painful death while they laugh and think they are cool for killing something.

[DFW]

56. It's "Yellow Back Radio Broke Down" all over again

One of my favorite books from 50 years ago stars these pigs (along with Mustache Sal and the Loop Garoo Kid).

[Willto]

61. They are a pestilence....

but if you know how to cook them they are very edible. We have been dealing with them for decades on our land.

It is almost impossible to get rid of them once established. A female can give birth to 10 or more piglets at a time and can have 2 litters a year. All the females in a litter are sexual mature at 6 months and can start having litters. They will eat anything. The damage that a group of about 30 adults can do to a crop field over the span of a couple of weeks has to be seen to be believed. They also root holes in the ground that look like the craters where a 155 mm howitzer impacted. Very destructive animals.

All that said I think their reputation for posing a threat to humans is vastly overrated. I have encountered them in the woods here in Alabama many times. All they have ever done is run from me. The only people I have ever known to be injured by one were catching them alive with the use of dogs back when that was legal here. Now you must kill them. No more hauling them out of the woods alive. You lay hands on any live wild animal and it will try to hurt you, even a chipmunk.

[GoCubsGo]

64. They have been out of control for over a decade.

I used to work as a biologist in Southeastern swamps. Feral hogs had already torn them up by the mid 2000's. It's really disheartening to hear that they Still haven't gotten control over the situation.

[Initech]

73. Why am I frightened when I feel like our food supply could take on Godzilla?

[Yavin4]

80. Quick someone call Duran Duran

[machoneman]

82. Pigs? Wild boars? I thought the blurb meant Trumpers and that odious (and boring) Judge Jeanie! Hah!