Most of us don’t like controversy. Most of us would probably like for everyone to get along and agree on many issues. I said most because you and I both know people who would gladly argue with a tree stump or an opossum. As I have said before it is much the same in the fish and game world. There is enough controversy out there for everybody.
One of the latest hot topics concerns the feral pig issue. We have talked about feral swine here before and many of you know this is a major problem for many state wildlife agencies especially in the southeastern part of the United States.
Feral pigs (feral means an animal that lives in the wild but is descended from domestic animals), are now found over much of the United States. It is hard to keep up with where they are actually found and in what numbers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says they are present in at least 39 states and one thing is for sure, wild hog populations are on the rise.
Feral hogs cause an incredible amount of damage, especially in agricultural areas (the USDA estimates that $1.5 billion per year is conservative). In case you don’t know, one of the things that hogs do when they feed is “root”, meaning they plow up the earth with their strong snouts and teeth. Another factor here is that pigs will eat just about anything, plant or animal. This is bad news for native wildlife populations, fawn deer and ground nesting birds (including wild turkeys) are definitely on the feral porkers’ menu.
State wild life agencies and most hunters agree feral pigs are a problem. What they certainly do not agree about is what to do about it.