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FeedPa. wild-hog-hunting days may be numbered
The Pennsylvania Game Commission is still trying to decide on a policy to control feral swine in the state.
The wild pigs are considered to be among the most destructive of invasive species. When they escape from fences intended to control them for pay hunts -- and they apparently regularly do -- the animals can inflict serious damage to habitat and spread disease to domestic pig populations.
If escaped feral swine establish breeding populations, it’s an ecological disaster. No state has ever been able to eliminate wild breeding hog populations, and some, such as Texas, spend millions of dollars trying to limit the damage they cause.
The Game Commission is considering a number of options. The state Supreme Court ruled several years ago that the agency is responsible for regulating feral swine.
Commissioners could outlaw the importation of wild hogs for hunting in high-fenced operations, but still allow those operations to breed wild hogs they have, maintaining huntable hog herds.
Or they could simply outlaw wild hogs in the state, forcing the high-fence operations to no longer offer wild hog hunting to customers. But hogs are their most popular quarry, high-fence hunting operation owners say.
Still, that’s what other states, such as Michigan, have done.
Commissioners discussed the issue at their recent work session in Harrisburg. Agency law enforcement chief Richard Palmer gave commissioners a report on how other states are regulating hog hunting.
Palmer noted that he sent out a survey through the National Conservation Law Enforcement Chiefs Association.
“I received 15 to 20 responses – in some states this is not even on their radar screens because wild hogs are not an issue,” he said.
“Considering those responses that I received, it seems like other states are all over the place in dealing with hogs.”
Some states’ wildlife management departments have nothing to do with any regulation of hogs, Palmer pointed out. The activity is completely regulated by their state departments of agriculture.
“In states where the wildlife departments have authority, for the most part they specifically prevent hogs from high-fenced hunting.
“Almost all of the states have a prohibition on importation of wild boars.”
Commissioner Ralph Martone, from Lawrence County, who is president of the board, seemed to signal that’s the direction Pennsylvania is headed.
“I think that gives us some solid ground where we might consider starting from,” he said.
“We have already prohibited the release of hogs into the wild.
“I think what we’re seeing is that when the state wildlife departments have control, they are going as far as they can. If they have control, they are saying, ‘we don't want hogs, period.’ And who can blame them?”
High fence hunting? That's not hunting and those who operate and those who participate are not hunters and don't have the right to call themselves hunters.
Any comments?
I dont think this is a very deal. Hogs dont multiply as well this far north as they do in the southern range. Just ask WV who has tried to have hogs as a game animal with actual strict restrictions on their harvest at least in the past I know for sure...possibly still, but havent followed....
Anyway the density of hogs and the numbers harvested had remained VERY low for decades.
I have spent a fair amount of time in some of the southern states and in areas there where there were high numbers of hogs, and to me, the damage done, while real, has been GREATLY exaggerated and across large areas aside from areas of crops... werent really an isssue at all.
I hunt game! Feral hogs are game. They are not domesticated species, Period. With that in mind why is there not a mapping of there growth and a season like in florida! Why is there not an open line farmers and people could call and report them so someone like me could get an update from the fish and game commision and hunt them. How do you know where these aniamals are and where is a list of farms and farmers that I could contact to get permission to hunt them.
High fence hunting? That's not hunting and those who operate and those who participate are not hunters and don't have the right to call themselves hunters.
Any comments?
you certenly are clueless .high fence hunting is more of a chalange than free range. its all in were you go and what your hunting . the game in a high fence is much smarter than the game out in the woods. there are some places that make it bad for the good ones .any high fence area that breeds there owne anmials . will be able to provide you with a more chalange hunt than you can find any were in the wild . i wood even be willing to bet that if we both started at the same time you in a high fence for boar stalk hunting and me out side of the fence stalk hunting for deer i wood be able to harvest a deer be for yopu were able to harvest a boar and ill even pay for the hunt. if you beet me . we must do this during hunting season so as to comply with all pa game commision ruls and reg this will be the 3 time ive done this and the last to times i was able to get a deer be fore the hunters were able to harvest a boar . the boar are born out there and are very smart. they no when some oneis in the hunt area there being hunted. they stay hunderds of yrds wawy from you. this is your chance to get a free hunt and some great meat let me know
i raise eurosain hogs. they look like wild boar. but there not. there a regulated herd with department of ag in pa.we meet all the requirments that the dep of ag has set forth . these boar are free rangeing on about 60 acers and have a better life than any pig in a commercial breeding facilty. they are quartly blood tested. and regestered as a domestic herd. we have ben doing this for the last 13 years . folling all ruls and reg that the department of ag has set for us . in the last 13 years we have invested every penny we have made over 500,000. and sale over 1000 of these boar for meat each year a demesitc pig sales for about .60 cents a lb there is no way to raise these pigs and make a liveing we get 2.75 a lb for the eurosain swine. w2hat gives any one the right to tell us we can not raise boar that we sale for meat be cause of how they look. are they going to close every pig farm down in the state that is not inside a barn the comnets that they are making are crazy . if this happens ill lose my farm and will have worked for the past 13 years for nothing . we have a state of the are facilty. that can cause no thert to any one. there are a lot of people sitting behind desk that are culeless to the truth .you can not compare pa to texas or florida the boar do not repuduce here like they do there and they are nothing but domistic pigs gone wild in the southern states .eurosain swine are a red meat much leaner colesteral free more like a beef. thats why there worth more money and worth raiseing. what right dose the pa game commision have to start inforceing the regs and ruls on farms in pa that the dep of ag all ready dose the game commision needs to stay in the woods and off the farms
I get a kick out of the hunters that run their mouth when it comes to High Fence hunting. Same guys follow the trout truck around like puppy dogs while their stocking the streams. Same guys shoot stocked pheasants and cry like little bitches when things don't go their way. If you don't like High fence hunts, don't do it! I take Deer Hunters all the time on private hunting grounds in PA, and 90% want a guarantee to have a shot. Sick of the " That's not Hunting statement" !! This year I went to a preserve to see what it was all about. 2013 I am going to open my own. Genetics, size, ETC can all be controlled. And what a blast I had!! I say if you have an opportunity and can afford a preserve hunt, do it. Just a fun fact, when I went to the preserve, I come to find that several professional ball players and OUTDOOR TV hosts and people from Remington, Winchester Arms,etc. Hunt their on a REGULAR basis!!!! The difference is, they can afford to do it!
My personal belief is this, there are not enough feral pigs in Pa for the game commission to open a season and charge for tags. The problem they have with high fence hunting preserves again are there is no money for them to make. I also raise Eurasian pigs, my family has raised hogs for years. The people that make these rules and regs are clueless. How our my hogs in a fence any different than the farmer's hogs up the road. They base their decision on looks, well we raised Vietnamese pot belly pigs for years and they had long hair and tusks, so are they illegal? I have a right to raise whatever I want on my farm and intend on doin so for many, many years!
Another thing I would like to add..... the dep of ag says that in order to raise this type of pig you are not aloud to have an intact male but are aloud to import bred sows granted they have the proper vaccinations. They also tell you they consider a pig a pig, despite breed type. Now being that said how are they to regulate breeding of swine. There are many people that cross breed these hogs and sell them to hunting preserves as full blood eurasian hogs. Many people dont know the difference and are uneducated. Do your research about the deer farmers. They tried to do the same thing to them in a way. Years ago the game commission used to give confiscated deer to the farmers that raised deer now they keep them and place them on game commission owned farms (that we the hunters pay for) and they charge the deer farmers a permit fee. Its all about money just like everything else in this country!
Feral swine are an issue, make no mistake about that. It doesn't matter if there is significant damage in your area or not. They cost a lot of people millions of dollars every year. They are also invasive. So, whether they were brought here for game purposes or not, they do not belong. The damage they're causing far outweighs the recreational gains. While there may not be as many this far north, that doesn't mean they shouldn't be managed. We should be grateful their numbers are so low here. That means they are at a manageable position. As for finding out numbers and such, the PGC does require all hog sightings and kills to be reported. Go to their site, and look up the regulations on hog hunting. They also have more info about the threat they pose. I've written two reports on hogs and the damage they cause. Trust me, they are not as irrelevant as you might think. Also, on a side note, they are one of the most aggressive animals you'll ever meet. I would rather come across a grizzly or pack of wolves than a pack of hogs. I'd have a better chance at coming out alive. Hogs will tear you up as soon as look at you, they know no fear. Some things to keep in mind. I know they provide income, but you need to look at long-term effects. Is it really worth it?
I'm not arguing the fact that they are a destructive species. There are many things that are said about these animals that are questionable. For example, the diseases that are supposedly carried by these animals, yet no one can come up with any proof of a wild hog carrying such diseases. They may, but all the popular hunting shows and many magazines I have read about hog hunting hqs the hunters either keeping the meat for themselves or donating it to food banks. Also, did you know that a common "butchering hog" can become feral in less than twenty generations? With more than two litters a year it doesn't take much time. I encourage you to check out Tennessee's program for hog management. They separate feral pigs from European pigs (wild boar). They say European pigs have been around since the 1600's brought here by settlers and turned loose for a source of food. There is a difference between a feral pig and a European pig. The pigs we raise are pure bred just like any show pig in your local 4H and can be just as expensive depending on blood lines and genetics. The definition of a feral pig is domesticated pig that has reverted to living in the wild. I'm not against totally wiping out feral pigs from the Pa wilderness but I am against someone telling me what I can raise on my farm. There are enough hunters in Pa that they could eliminate the pig population in a few months. From what I have read though pigs sightings are few and far between from people living in the so called infected area. By my calculations if we had a population of 3000 in 2010 it should have at least doubled by now. If they are concerned about escapee's set up some strict guidelines and penalties but also remember the average Joe's pigs could escape too causing the same damage. So how do you decide who to regulate?