With 'Hog Apocalypse' on hold, what do we do about the pesky wild pigs taking over Texas?

With 'Hog Apocalypse' on hold, what do we do about the pesky wild pigs taking over Texas?

Wild pigs may not look like much, but they're among the most intelligent animals in the United States, which makes them formidable adversaries. And they've taken over Texas and have been documented in every county, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife.

"If you're not already dealing with pigs, you're going to," said Brett Johnson, an urban biologist for the city of Dallas. The pigs cost Texans about $52 million in agricultural damage every year.

Kind of surprises me - unless people are not allowed to hunt them which I know isn't true.

Even if you're not a farmer, here's why you should be concerned: Feral hogs tear up lawns, parks and golf courses; they skulk around highways and train tracks; and they poop in our water supply.

Estimates peg the number of wild pigs in the U.S. at 4 million or more— and somewhere between 2 million to 3 million are in our state.

Sure, Texas is a gun-friendly state, but don't assume that getting rid of wild pigs is as easy as shooting or poisoning them. Population control is far more complicated than the state agriculture commissioner's stalled plans for a "Hog Apocalypse."

Get out the dogs and the guns! Nothing like a good hog hunt!!!

They are difficult to hunt because they are so smart, fast, wide ranging, eat anything and breed prolifically.

The number of litters far outweighs the number of kills.

They are developing poison bait stations that have limited success. Complex feeding stations that only allow hogs to get to the bait, and only if they come to the station.

Donna have time to link.

a reply to: silo13

Eat them.

Statewide holiday, everyone gets a day off to cook wild pigs. When you bring the pig to the DNR to register it, you get a gallon of Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce and a successful Hog patch to sew on your hat.

Everyone has to eat wild bore that day, people better start hunting them to get stocked up. Do it Texas style.

Turn them into an asset by pushing the helicopter hunting for tourists.

They should allow people that have a hunting license to help take these out. I personally have not been affected by them as in getting in my lawn, but I have (many times) fell into their root holes that were covered in grass. That alone caused me to get Plantars Fasciitis, which is a really painful thing to have, it can take a year (at least) to get over.

I was once in a very large park next to the Trinity River that has a big problem with pigs, although I had not seen any period, and I was in that park for several hours per week, when driving in a young pig came running up alongside my truck. He was lonesome, it was pretty hard to watch him, when I got out he followed me like a pet dog, he was solid black, his hair was like boar bristles, and he was about 1/3rd grown. He wasn't pretty, but he sure was cute. He came right up to me and let me pet him, which may have been stupid on my part, but you just had to be there. He followed me for 3 hours, I was doing bird photography so I was just hanging out anyway, might as well have a friend along.
As I was leaving he followed me until I got up enough speed to outrun him, I felt bad leaving him there too, I really did.
I found out the next day that the City had come in the night before and took the entire group out, I don't know how, but they did. That left that poor little lonely pig all alone, I know how damaging they are and the problem that represents, but he just wanted to be with someone, and it's hard to watch a small animal that wants that when you know they will come and get him soon probably.
Anyway, that's one side of it, but on the whole, I know what needs to be done, and I wholeheartedly agree that they need to be at a level that is controllable, if such a thing exists.

The meat needs to be given to the poor and I am sure they can do a lot with that.

Here's some that are still at the stage of being cute. (Sorry, I can't post images)
c2.staticflickr.com...

Even these 8 baby peegs were taken out a couple of days later, I don't like to think about that 'cause I spent a LOT of times photographing these.

They have done everything everyone has mentioned and more. Like someone mentioned hogs are extremely intelligent and like coyotes but breed about as fast as rabbits.

The stories I could tell you about how quickly they learn and how they out smart traps and pens are amazing. Not to mention the shear toughness of them as a animal and ability to survive and eat damn near everything.

This is a problem that is growing but with more hunter participation and high capacity semi automatic rifles we should/could control them.

Bacon or Sausage anyone??

With so many hungry homeless people in our country this to me spells nothing but opportunity! Lets turn the soup kitchens into BBQ huts lol...

nothing like wild hog bacon, chops and hams

I have family in Texas I go about 3 or 4 times a year down there to hunt, you dont need a tag.

We eat everything we kill, doesnt take long to stock up a freezer, honestly if the state gets involved in the culling, that could be a solution to food shortages in a lot of places, should find a way to utilize them for that.

Sure would hate to see all that meat wasted.

The correct form would have been Hogpocalypse, for future reference.

Similar to a Varmageddon.

Smart, have one of the best noses in the animal world, and they only really come out during the wee hours due to their inability to sweat.

If you want to shoot hogs, there are plenty...but you have to forego some sleep.

a reply to: recrisp

They're adorable.

I've raised pigs all my life and they really are cute at that stage.

Pretty amazing animals. I've seen piglets start to fight over a teet when they're still attached to their mother (umbilical chord). Cute as the are - they're nothing to play around with.

And those little ones? Teeth sharper than razors. I had to 'clip' teeth on my piglets so they wouldn't injure each other or their mother while eating.

This has me thinking of "Night of the Lepus" only giant hogs. Would make a great sci-fi.

FFS texas - you have the highest per capita firearms ownership

have free - free range bacon - for everyone wandering around

and you are still complaining

get a grip

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
Smart, have one of the best noses in the animal world, and they only really come out during the wee hours due to their inability to sweat.

If you want to shoot hogs, there are plenty...but you have to forego some sleep.

There's some pretty graphic videos of people blowing them up and night shoots on YT.

I wouldn't want to be around exploding pig OR hunting them at night - but I wouldn't mind at all during the day.

originally posted by: silo13

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
Smart, have one of the best noses in the animal world, and they only really come out during the wee hours due to their inability to sweat.

If you want to shoot hogs, there are plenty...but you have to forego some sleep.

There's some pretty graphic videos of people blowing them up and night shoots on YT.

I wouldn't want to be around exploding pig OR hunting them at night - but I wouldn't mind at all during the day.

I like the videos with the cage suspended above a feeder that drops down over a whole pack of them. Then you can pop them one at a time in the head, wasting little meat.

a reply to: silo13

I grew up in Fort Worth. I totaled my car hitting a pack of them once. When the police arrived one of the officers told me that have a special unit that hunts hogs every night. How ever, I'm not sure if they still do that.

originally posted by: ignorant_ape
FFS texas - you have the highest per capita firearms ownership

have free - free range bacon - for everyone wandering around

and you are still complaining

get a grip

Unless its changed ove rthe last year or two, you still have to have a generic hunting license to shoot a hog. They should be moved onto the "Varmint" list with coyotes, but they are on the "exotic" list with rams/mountain goats.

I'd go "hog wild" if the state saw them as varmint.

originally posted by: silo13
a reply to: recrisp

They're adorable.

I've raised pigs all my life and they really are cute at that stage.

Pretty amazing animals. I've seen piglets start to fight over a teet when they're still attached to their mother (umbilical chord). Cute as the are - they're nothing to play around with.

And those little ones? Teeth sharper than razors. I had to 'clip' teeth on my piglets so they wouldn't injure each other or their mother while eating.

Thanks for the help on my pig picture!

Your baby pig fighting video looks like my small dogs play fighting! heheh
They are dangerous though, pigs in general, I mean, even I know that and I am a city boy, I have never done what you have, and I wouldn't want to. =)

The reason I mention that people with a hunting license is that it 'might' help control the hunters some. I know, or have known a LOT of Texas hunters that make their own laws, they are exactly what I mean by they shouldn't be hunting period, they are as dangerous as the hogs.
A hunter that is licensed 'I would think' may be at least legal when hunting, poachers don't follow rules at all, so they do what they want.

All I mean is, if EVERYONE could just go out and shoot hogs anytime, that may not work out so well. I know a lot of land owners here in Texas and in Oklahoma that have to run off poachers almost weekly, year-round.
You get a bunch of good ol' boys that feel they have a license to kill, that will give them and inch, they will take a mile.

I am pretty sure that Texas Parks and Wildlife have been thinking of a way, but so far they have not done a thing about allowing people to hunt hogs as needed, I don't know why.
Hopefully soon, because out of all of the time that I spent outdoors photographing, I only started seeing them around 2014. Since then I have seen them numerous times, they were just everywhere in all of the places that I would go and shoot wildlife.