Hogs Gone Wild

[Doc]

Just finished watching a new show on the Discovery Channel called "Hogs Gone Wild" which is kind of a follow-on series to "The Pig Bomb" and a couple of other recent wild boar shows that have been highlighted on that channel. I'm not sure how much of the content is a bit over-dramatized, but it is a pretty interesting show about some of the trouble areas of the U.S. where wild hogs have gone completely out of control in terms of numbers, destruction, and dangerous encounters with humans. The show that I recorded and watched this morning was about a family in Hawaii that was completely surrounded each and every night by quite a few of these critters to the point where they didn't dare go outside after dark. There was another segment about a Texas family that had a rogue 400 pounder that was threatening livestock and causing some severe habitat damage. These things are not the lazy cute piggies that we have on our farms. They seem to be kind of nasty tempered, especially when they get old and big.

The show was about animal control experts removing problem critters, and some of the unusual ways that they do it. Most of it looked like hand-to-hand combat. These guys have dogs that go in and grab the hog by the ears and hold him down that way while these guys reach in, grab a rear leg and then jump on top of the pig pinning it down. I'm sitting there scratching my head wondering why they simply don't shoot the critter ..... But apparently they are determined to catch them alive for some weird reason. The only thing I could figure out is that maybe it is illegal to discharge firearms in that area or something. In one case  one of the guys had to use a knife to kill a 400 pounder because he was in danger of losing his grip on it ..... it was too big to handle.

Anyway, I figured that some of you might be interested in catching any of the new episodes or re-runs of this one. I think they said that next Tuesday at 10:00 there was going to be the next installment on The Discovery Channel. You might find the program pretty interesting. One thing this program has convinced me of is that I don't want anything to do with having those things here in NYS.....lol.

Doc

[Pat Rockets]

If they were to show up here..an all yr anytime season would be in order..cant say i would hate pork in the freezer too

[Doc]

I sure would like another kind of tasty thing around to hunt, and I do like pork (although I have heard mixed reviews on the taste of wild boars). But some of these critters seem to be of a real nasty disposition. One thing I really don't need is some 400 pound tusker charging out of the bushes while I stand there with just my bow and arrows for defense. Also, the damage that they do to the habitat is something that we probably wouldn't appreciate too much either. However, I'm not sure that we will really have much of a choice in the matter since they seem to be expanding their range northward all by themselves.

[Pygmy]

The damage to the habitat is the worst thing about them..They really tear things up...

I've hunted them in Georgia and  one of my partners has hunted them in Georgia, Florida and Texas.. Nobody likes the damn things, and they really so a lot of serious damage... We sure don't need them here in NY...

They ARE fun to hunt and good to eat, however..The older boars are strong and are best left in the woods for the coyotes, but the young boars and the sows are excellent...

[Karpteach]

Hunted the in Texas many many moons ago. The young boars and the sow's taste very when there bled.

[MuzzyLoader]

Below is a link to an article about the invasion of feral hogs.  It's from our local newspaper today:

http://www.stargazette.com/article/20110417/NEWS01/104170350/Invasion-feral-hogs-poses-problems-N-Y-?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

[erussell]

They capture them to feed the wild out of them and castrate the males. It makes them taste better. Hunted them in Lousiana and Alabama. Locals would corral up whole herds and fatten them up and castrate them, to butcher them latter. Shot a 300lbs sow and a 150 lbs boar. The sow was delic. I should have left the Boar in the woods was a waste of money butchering. Smelled like pig piss when you would cook it, stink up the whole house. Ended up putting it in the land fill.

[Geno C]

i saw this show also... good show.

[Karpteach]

I thi k the new season started last week. It's a great show. Never knew they had such a problem in Hawaii.