There's a conflict of interest in the hog hunting-tourism industry. Companies profit from the existence of the hogs, because they are legal to hunt year-round in Texas, with no permit and no bag limit. People have deliberately captured and transported the hogs to neighboring states with the hopes of propagating the problem and the profits that follow.<p>Of course, hunting hogs with a rifle makes people feel like they're helping. But shooting at these hogs, even if you bag a few, actually diffuses a herd across wide areas. It breaks up what was previously a single, easily trackable group. The young hogs reproduce like crazy and soon you've got two or three as many hogs.<p>Other states have banned the practice of hunting for this reason, instead favoring the capture of the hogs. It seems to me that as long as it's profitable to hunt and spread these hogs, there will be an increasingly large hog problem in the US.
> <i>I would like to see things as natural as possible. And feral pigs don’t have a place on this continent.</i><p>That's a strange -- and dangerous -- thing to say for an American of European origin.
How on earth is there an article about how to stop large numbers of feral hogs without mentioning the most famous tweet on the subject: <a href="https://twitter.com/WillieMcNabb/status/1158045307562856448" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/WillieMcNabb/status/1158045307562856448</a>
If anyone in the San Jose, CA vicinity are looking for a recreational hog hunter to help control the pig population on their land i.e. shoot them, feel free to reach out. Zero cost to you, and will abide by all rules, regulations, and any preferences that you have. Will also share some of the dressed meat!
Bring me their young:<p><a href="https://portuguesecooking.wordpress.com/2013/05/25/130/" rel="nofollow">https://portuguesecooking.wordpress.com/2013/05/25/130/</a>
This could be a case where gene drive extinction solutions could work safely. There aren't any native species in the Americas with which either a feral pig, or a European wild boar, can interbreed, and controlling gene flow from wild stocks into domestic pigs shouldn't be very difficult, since essentially all domestic pig breeding is controlled breeding with known sires. You would definitely want to have controls to make sure the gene drive wasn't exported to Eurasia, but that seems doable.
You have to wonder why they don't use this as training for military units. The military helicopter pilots could use the training, and this would also provide good training for snipers and door gunners. There wouldn't be concerns about people doing stupid things as US military personnel are good at following orders.
Why are they called 'feral hogs' in America? This is the original wild species of pigs, if I'm not mistaken. I think wild boar would be better. We also don't call wolves 'feral dogs,' no matter how little we like them.