They are quite the nuisance in parts of California. If you're hiking, adding feral pig encounter to the existing mountain lion or bear encounter, can be overwhelming.<p>I found it interesting how hunting backfires (scatters them and increases their range) as it seems to be always pounded into me "hunted out of existence" was a common thing that hunters would do if left to their own devices (I know, there is a LOT of propaganda in this space!) That said, I'm surprised there are not more trapping & slaughtering programs in place.<p>The engineer in me wants to slaughter the pigs, use the cesium capsules at Hanford to irradiate/sterilize the meat of all bacteria and parasites, and then turn it into free bacon and/or jerky for whomever needs it. Impractical for sure but free bacon right?
There's a great reply-all on Feral Hogs: <a href="https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/n8hw3d" rel="nofollow">https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/n8hw3d</a> that explores the tweet:<p>“Legit question for rural Americans - how do I kill the 30-50 feral hogs that run into my yard within 3-5 min while my small kids play.”
It's very hard to get control of invasive species. In a story here about tumbleweeds I said these were an invasive species from Russia, wondered what from the Americas had invaded the rest of the world, and a bunch of responders provided examples [0].<p>[0] <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21967020" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21967020</a><p>Senestech's system for controlling rodents [1] is an ovary poison that stops female rodents from reproducing. The system is deployed continuously to keep rodent populations down in cities. But trying to kill all the rats in a city is probably not a good idea either: "A Vancouver rat study is showing us how pest control can backfire... " [2]:<p>>> [Rats] may be just as much a part of our city as sidewalks and lampposts. We would all be better off if, under most circumstances, we simply left them alone. [2]<p>Invasive ferrel/hybrid pigs are not comparable to rats, and I don't think a case can be made to let them alone. Maybe something like contrapest [3] could be developed for these invasive hybrid/ferrel pigs.<p>[1] <a href="https://senestech.com" rel="nofollow">https://senestech.com</a><p>[2] <a href="http://nautil.us/issue/38/noise/the-case-for-leaving-city-rats-alone" rel="nofollow">http://nautil.us/issue/38/noise/the-case-for-leaving-city-ra...</a><p>[3] <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ContraPest" rel="nofollow">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ContraPest</a>
I'm in Texas. This is a big problem in this region of the USA. Texas has allowed open season all year round for hunting feral pigs/hogs. I'm curious what this has done to the population per the article.<p>More info from Texas gov <a href="https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/nuisance/feral_hogs/" rel="nofollow">https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/nuisance/feral_hogs/</a>
I hate to say it, but in NZ we've found our usage of sodium fluoroacetate (highly toxic to mammals) to control brushtail possums to prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis, has had the side-effect of reducing what were once very high wild pig numbers - they scavenge the possum corpse, and in turn are poisoned.<p>Which is very unpopular with pig hunters and people who don't like 'chemicals'. And not very feasible for countries with native/endemic mammals that may scavenge a hog corpse.<p>But, poison works, albeit accidentally. We use a variety of other techniques to control introduced mammals - intensive trapping and poisoning in ecologically sensitive areas, judas goats[1], helicopter culling, and sometimes, just letting the free market handle it[2] - wild animal recovery is very good at keeping red deer populations at low - medium numbers... ...when the price of wild venison in Germany makes it economical. Although it has changed their behaviour - they become more daylight-averse, and quickly learn to hide from helicopters.<p>[1]: <a href="https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/10136/judas-goat" rel="nofollow">https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/10136/judas-goat</a>
[2]: <a href="https://www.doc.govt.nz/get-involved/apply-for-permits/business-or-activity/national-wild-animal-recovery-operations/" rel="nofollow">https://www.doc.govt.nz/get-involved/apply-for-permits/busin...</a>
>> The province of Ontario has an emerging population of a few hundred pigs, and it’s educating the public, collecting data, and testing how to track and remove swine.<p>Just tell the hunters you have a problem and invite them in to eradicate them. I feel like government bodies whose job is to deal with such things never want to "solve" a problem completely, but would rather "manage" it so they can keep their job.<p>Some day these few hundred pigs will be 10's of thousands or more and they'll look back and wonder why they didn't put more effort in sooner.
Setup a import company in China, label these pigs as rural free range pig hunted and butchered by American farmers in their backyards.<p>Start counting money and proclaimed a national hero and the icon of mutual dependency between us and China...<p>Sounds like a good idea. And this is free for copying.
Ontario is lauded for essentially doing nothing other than studying the situation and haplessly following up reports weeks and months later. Also, not actually getting rid of any hogs.<p>But, the <i>real</i> problem is allowing hunters to shoot them when they see them. Got it.
I live in a rural area and have many friends who hunt deer and other game.<p>I expect if the need arose, many of these would help thin the feral hog population with little incentive. (Maybe free access to land, or even a discounted hunting license for next year.) It wouldn't take much.
Are there any audio deterrents for pigs like there are for birds?<p>I think I've read about playing hawk screams or bird distress calls to scare away birds from airports. Would something similar like playing a cougar scream be enough to keep pigs out of an area?
Eventually they will figure a way to make them sterile. It's a huge problem so there's money in figuring it out. Drop some "food" and they win the Darwin Award once they eat it.
Australia fought a war against invasive wildlife in the 1930s, and was famously defeated by the Emus. America is much more powerful than Australia, but it has had trouble winning wars recently. On top of that, this one would be fought on its own soil, which is something it has not experienced in more than a century. And of course, pigs are much stronger and much smarter than emus. Americans would be wise not to underestimate the threat.
Problem: people are hungry<p>Solution: eat animals<p>Problem: people like eating animals and want more<p>Solution: selectively breed animals in a way that makes them reproduce rapidly<p>Problem: poor containment has caused selectively bred animals to breed with wild animals and created explosive population growth<p>Solution: kill all the animals?<p>"[Scientists] are focused on whether they can do something. They never stop to ask if they should do something." - Jurassic Park<p>Perhaps we should stop trying to screw with nature. We end up with things like explosive population growth and I don't know... SARS, COVID, etc.