Feral Hogs are getting out of hand

[fishinwrench]

I get that.  Guys will actively "hunt them" until the numbers get down and the expectation of seeing some dwindles.

But if hunters and landowners killed them on sight from now until they didn't see them anymore the results would be positive, and at ZERO extra cost to taxpayers.  I just have a suspicion that MDC is gonna milk this goose for a long LONG time.....and not get rid of very many hogs.    I could be wrong, but I'm one of those fellas that thinks we can take care of things like this just fine if they'd allow it.  

Having "zero hogs" ain't gonna happen whether MDC traps them or people are allowed to shoot them.

[Quillback]

I agree, they can probably never be totally eradicated.  But, if they have a herd (I refuse to call them a sounder) that's tearing up farmland, there is the possibility of trapping the entire herd and removing them from that area. 

I admit I find it hard to believe that hunters turn pigs loose so they can come back and hunt the offspring later.  I'm sure it has happened, but you would not think it is a common occurrence. 

[skeeter]

Wouldn't it be interesting to discover how many "requests" MDC has for their trapping services vs. how many "teams" of trappers with cages they have and how long it's taking for the response to requests ?

After MDC "gave" $100,000.00 of our Sales Tax and Permit dollars to a Table Rock Commercial Marina operator as a "reward" for installing larger dock slips and pump-out facilities to encourage more "battleship in a bathtub" large boats on Table Rock, I am not viewing MDC policies very favorably. 

[SpoonDog]

Look, I know it's a struggle.  You can have the belief Missouri hunters could reduce or eliminate hog populations, you just can't demand MDC act on that belief in the absence of any supporting evidence.

Public hunting would only be "zero-cost" if it were as effective as MDC's management strategy- and everything we know about how hog hunting worked here, how it worked in Arkansas, NC, TN, TX, and others indicates exactly the opposite.  The cost just shifts from MDC dollars to damaged fields and fences, to higher risk of disease transmission, to greater predation of and competition with native game species.  Sport hunting hogs has a cost, and IMO I'd rather pay for an efficient management system than an ineffective one.  And besides, it's not as though it's some brand-new thing or some vast gov't overreach- many states had government trappers throughout the 19th and into the mid-20th century. 

And it is weird to think about Quill, but folks release pheasants and quail and chukar all the time.  Every farm pond in the state was stocked with the idea of harvesting their offspring.  And high-fence operations are all about stocking deer/elk/bison/exotics so they can be hunted.  Those barriers aren't 100% effective. 

[Quillback]

I think there's a bit of a difference in releasing game birds and hogs.  Not to sound like a wise guy, but I have yet to hear of a MO farmer or one from AR complaining that their fields are bring torn up by pheasants or other game birds.  Hogs are a completely different matter.  I'm open minded on this for sure, but I just have only seen anecdotal evidence of people releasing hogs for hunting purposes.  Might make sense to create a huge fine plus jail time for anyone caught releasing a hog if it's an issue.

 

[MOPanfisher]

Yes, there a few groups of people who raised and released hogs.  Every time I hear that hunters could eradicate the hogs, I have to wonder why the hogs weren't all killed out a few years ago.  when it was legal and encouraged to shoot n sight.   Private landowners can still shoot them on sight, and hogs can be hunted on pivate property.

[Chief Grey Bear]

37 minutes ago, Quillback said:

I think there's a bit of a difference in releasing game birds and hogs.  Not to sound like a wise guy, but I have yet to hear of a MO farmer or one from AR complaining that their fields are bring torn up by pheasants or other game birds.  Hogs are a completely different matter.  I'm open minded on this for sure, but I just have only seen anecdotal evidence of people releasing hogs for hunting purposes.  Might make sense to create a huge fine plus jail time for anyone caught releasing a hog if it's an issue.

 

And you probably won't hear them complain on a large scale. But pen raised birds can and do introduce diseases to the native birds which can decimate their population. 

[fishinwrench]

2 hours ago, SpoonDog said:

Look, I know it's a struggle.  You can have the belief Missouri hunters could reduce or eliminate hog populations, you just can't demand MDC act on that belief in the absence of any supporting evidence.

The supporting evidence is the fact that they impose limits on the harvest of every other animal that has a heartbeat.  They do that because they KNOW that if people were allowed to kill all they want then said animal would soon be extinct.   

That IMO should be all the supporting evidence you need. 

I may not be able to kill every fly in my house with a flyswatter but in 5 minutes I can make it to where they aren't a problem anymore. 

[Quillback]

1 hour ago, Chief Grey Bear said:

And you probably won't hear them complain on a large scale. But pen raised birds can and do introduce diseases to the native birds which can decimate their population. 

Maybe, but I don't see it happening in states llke SD or Kansas where there a large numbers of birds released on pay to hunt ranches.  I would think in SD they would be seriously concerned if it were a real threat as those pheasants up there are a big deal. 

[Chief Grey Bear]

I didn't say it was an epidemic. 

But you will not talk to any biologist that is overly thrilled with the release of pen raised birds.