NYT on Feral Hogs

[Curmudgeon]

This is an article in today's Times on feral hogs and their movement north into Canada.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/16/science/feral-pigs-canada-texas.html?algo=identity&fellback=false&imp_id=330648652&imp_id=447823382&action=click&module=Science Technology&pgtype=Homepage

Some long-time members might recall the eradication of hogs near Hancock, NY back around 2014. They had escaped from a game farm there. We found were APHIS dumped some of the dead pigs when we went looking for a Golden Eagle we were tracking. The eagle's last known location was in sight of the pig pile. Then, it dropped off the face of the earth. A Bald Eagle had been found dying of lead poisoning within a mile of the pig pile a week earlier but at that time no one made a connection. This was late winter so the poisoning wasn't from deer gut piles. Of course APHIS uses lead ammo and will not switch. Our eagle was presumed dead and on its back because its tracker battery died very quickly (solar cell charges it). We searched the area but didn't find it. APHIS had a contract with DEC to kill the pigs and remove the carcasses for burial or incineration. Someone got lazy and the landowner said they could leave them in a pile where he dragged dead livestock. APHIS got its wrist slapped.