Confusing Regs for Hogs in MO

[schmalts]

So I went mountain biking in MO this weekend and talked to another biker that saw a hog. I looked up what I needed to shoot hogs there and came across this. The Conservation Department and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service are working together to eradicate feral hogs in Missouri. Hunters shooting feral hogs complicates efforts to remove these pests. If you are afield for other game and encounter a feral hog, please call the number below to report it as soon as possible
With your help, we can eliminate these dangerous, destructive pests from Missouri
Report Feral Hog Sightings
573-522-4115, ext. 3296
28

 

[Ben Lamb]

They don't want hunters to start desiring them as a game species. The thought is that people will be upset if you remove the opportunities.

 

[npaden]

One of the most common ways that feral pigs get started in a new area is by "hunters" trapping and releasing them in areas without a current population so they will be able to hunt them in the future.

By not allowing people to hunt them, the theory is that there won't be any reason for people to trap and release them to areas that there isn't already a population.

I can't remember which states are doing it this way, but if I recall correctly, they are more successful at limiting population growth than states that allow hunting.

 

[1_pointer]

Indiana attempted to curtail this issue by making it illegal to charge anyone to hunt feral pigs in the state as well as importing them in for hunting purposes. We still have pigs in a couple of places, but those were from earlier releases. I'm wondering if this isn't similar rationale that MO is using in trying to prevent the problem??

 

[LCH]

Indiana attempted to curtail this issue by making it illegal to charge anyone to hunt feral pigs in the state as well as importing them in for hunting purposes. We still have pigs in a couple of places, but those were from earlier releases. I'm wondering if this isn't similar rationale that MO is using in trying to prevent the problem??

Yep, similar rationale, but flawed IMO. We've had them in my neck of the woods since around 1990, and hunters have kept them in check for all that time. Haven't eradicated them, but kept them under control.

USDA now has 2 full-time biologists with supposedly guaranteed funding for 5 years under the Farm Bill, working exclusively on the hog problem in Indiana. They are currently trapping and even talking about bringing in choppers to shoot them from.

This is well and good, except the DNR and now USDA are telling landowners to not allow pig hunters on their property, let DNR/USDA on instead. I think it needs to be a joint effort between DNR/USDA and hunters, not competition.

I know the local DNR biologist fairly well, and he has been pretty much the sole DNR hog guy up until now. He has been trapping and snaring them for years. I recently asked him how many hogs he kills on average per year. Answer? 50 on a good year.

Now, Indiana has no population estimate on these critters, but my local population covers portions of 3 counties, can be extremely thick in some areas, and totally absent in others, depending on cover, human presence, crop rotation, etc. The DNR biologist mentioned above has said he's confident there are at least a few thousand in our area.

Now, if hunters have kept them in mostly check for the last 25 years, and the DNR only gets 50 on a good year, why do they think now that they have 2 extra guys working on hogs, that they can wipe them out on their own? Even if they start killing 1,000 hogs per year, I have frequently read that you must kill about 70-80% of the population annually just to keep the population from growing.

 

[teamhoyt]

Just read an article about this in Peterson HOG hunting issue yesterday. Several states have made it illegal to hunt, charge to hunt, or transport hogs. Some states claim that they can trap 10 hogs at one time where a hunter might get a couple. When adding hunting pressure to the mix it make trapping less effective.

 

[LCH]

Just read an article about this in Peterson HOG hunting issue yesterday. Several states have made it illegal to hunt, charge to hunt, or transport hogs. Some states claim that they can trap 10 hogs at one time where a hunter might get a couple. When adding hunting pressure to the mix it make trapping less effective.

Yep.. but you have to consider the # of people trapping 10 at a time, vs. the # of hunters shooting 2 at a time. If the gov actually eradicates any decent sized established population anywhere, they may make a believer out of me. For now I remain a skeptic.

In Indiana, for example, we have lots of small parcels of property. 100 acres is a good sized spread around here. If the USDA guys can only get permission to trap a few small parcels, it's gonna reflect poorly on them. However, if they can convince landowners not to allow hunters on their ground, they are probably gonna get permission to come on from a lot more landowners.

I've been to 2 public meetings put on by the IDNR and USDA to address the issue of wild pigs in Indiana. At each meeting, the biologists have recounted stories of hunters causing property owners problems and disrespecting their property rights. While I'm sure they are probably true accounts, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth to hear the bios discourage landowners from allowing hunting access on their property. It affects not only the pig hunters, but all the hunters who depend on their neighbors' generosity for a hunting spot. It is already incredibly difficult to find a spot to hunt around here without paying $20-$40 per acre for a lease.

 

[WRO]

Sounds like typical big government to me, for every one thing they do better than the free market, there are 10 things they don't do better.

 

[krshntr81]

The conservation department encourages people to shoot feral hogs on site if you are in the field hunting other animals. As others have stated they are trying to discourage people from just going afield to hunt feral hogs in hopes that people won't just start releasing hogs to hunt. This is primarily a southern Missouri issue, but a few years ago they started showing up on a North East Missouri conservation area. I sure hope they don't take hold like they have in the states to the south of us.

 

[dwm4375]

There's a very good thread HERE about a guy who mostly traps hogs on his property in TX. Hunting pressure makes them more wild, nocturnal, and unpredictable. He slowly builds up trust in baiting them to a location, and builds his trap around the bait one panel at a time. He can remove an entire group that way.

If you're going to shoot one, it needs to be the lead sow. She's the leader of the pack, and with her dead the rest of the group is vulnerable to trapping or hunting again. If you shoot a subordinate, the lead sow will get them out of there and you won't have a chance to hunt or trap them again.

He believes hunting is generally counterproductive, because it educates hogs and scatters them around. Better to remove the entire group at once. I have no experience with this at all, but it's a great read.

 

[havgunwilltravel]

Its a tough one, feral hogs are extremely switched once they have had a bit of hunting pressure, they can quickly go nocturnal. They sure aren't dumb once the guns start going off, so i can see both sides of the argument here about the better ways to reduce hog numbers. Personally i think a blanket, all out approach by trappers, pig doggers, aerial shooters, baiters, archery hunters, rifle hunters etc is probably a good way to always have people in the field that can legally eliminate a feral pig if they encounter one.

Once they are entrenched in any area, you will very rarely ever get rid of the entire population, especially if there is plenty of cover for the hogs to breed, survive, and shift location without doing so in open country and being vulnerable to being killed.

 

[kiwi hunter]

in one part of nz,,the ureweras,, we would have a population explosion every say ten years and then a disease strikes wiping out up to 95%,,but several yrs later they breed up again