Syracuse.com - Owner of Wild West Trophy Hunts details what's involved with his wild boar hunts

[HuntingNY-News]

"This procedure does not allow for any loss of boars that would add to the problem that already exists in the State of New York," said Cody Mikalunas, owner of the preserve.

Submitted photoWendy Cosselman, of Bleecker, shot this Russian boar last year at Wild West Trophy Hunts, a private hunting preserve in Chenango CountyBy Cody Mikalunas

This letter is in response to David Figura's Wild Boar story that was published on Sept. 9, 2011. We are Wild West Trophy Hunts out of West Edmeston, N.Y. We are a trophy hunting preserve that offers trophy elk, buffalo, New Zealand red stag, European fallow deer and whitetail hunts. Also offered are wild boar, pheasant hunts and safari hunts.

We would like to further explain the hunting methods of the wild boar here at Wild West Trophy Hunts.

To begin with, the structure and security of the holding pen is the utmost importance when it comes to wild boar "escaping." So here at Wild West Trophy hunts, prior to hunting boar, careful consideration was put into the containment of the boar prior to the hunt. We escavated a trench 5 to 6 feet deep, and buried heavy gauge metal paneling in this trench.

The pen is comprised to two areas, a large area, and a small area.The boars are lured from the large area to the small area next to a hoisted heavy plate steel. Once separate into than pen for hunting purposes, they are released through swinging doors, for safety and liability, into the hunting area.

Once in the hunting preseve, staff spotters also carry guns, only to be used if a boar tries to escape the hunting area while they are on watch, and then only after radio contact for safety purposes on shooting. ((This has not (been) necessary, but it is a precaution only. In general, once released, the boar bury themselves into the heavily wooded areas and act like wild boar. ))

Then, with continued radio contact from spotters to the main guide, the hunters and their main guide enter the hunting area and proceed to head to the area told by the spotters. Once hunters and guides have located boars by eye vision, and with knowledge from other staff spotters on location of other boar if they separated once released, staff spotters area radioed to join the main guide. The hunters are then advised to shoot when a shot is presented.

This procedure continues until every boar for that hunt are down and complete. Therefore, this procedure does not allow for any loss of boars that would add to the problem that already exists in the State of New York.

The reason the Wild West developed this way of hunting wild boar is because that not all we do, and with the ability of the boars' strength and determination, they can and will escape if not closely watched. I strongly feel electric fencing is not the answer, because you cannot depend on electric due to storms, and normal outages. The comments made about castrating boars prior to shipping from ranches to preserves/Agri-Parks, we feel is a great idea.

Mikalunas and his wife, Cindy, own and run Wild West Trophy Hunts, 213 Button Road, West Edmeston, N.Y. For more, see their Web site.

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