Getting rid of introduced species

[Paul F.]

Hey, whatdya know... it doesn't block "breast"....

[samintx]

Paul F. wrote:
Spock;

When ranchers in the southwest, and Texas, stop charging hunters $500 per feral pig harvested on their property, I'll believe they are serious about wanting to eradicate them as a pest.

kj;
.22 air-rifle, good pair of binocs, good target identification... I'll bet if you harvest 20-30 of them in a day, you could make a very nice meat pie from starling "white meat". I'd use the word breast, but I'm guessing the new filter will censor it.

getting Ferrel hogs isn't as easy as you think. The ranchers are getting some money but hunting them, trapping them is a different story. Not easy. Much hunting has to be done at night because salting spots they soon learn it is a trap.

[kj]

Paul F. wrote:
Spock;

When ranchers in the southwest, and Texas, stop charging hunters $500 per feral pig harvested on their property, I'll believe they are serious about wanting to eradicate them as a pest.

kj;
.22 air-rifle, good pair of binocs, good target identification... I'll bet if you harvest 20-30 of them in a day, you could make a very nice meat pie from starling "white meat". I'd use the word breast, but I'm guessing the new filter will censor it.

I would actually consider trying that if starlings didn't spend so much time in the sewage treatment plants.

As far as hunting them, people used to just shoot shotguns into the tree branches above them and it would rain starlings. Probably not a good idea now though. kj.

[Paul F.]

Samintx;

Yes, the feral hogs are a difficult hunt... but there are a lot of folks (several that I know personally) that would love to take up the hunting of feral pigs... except that ranchers (who complain about the devastating damage the pigs do to their property) also charge ridiculous fees to hunt their property. None of the hunters I know are opposed to the ranchers/farmers charging to hunt their land... that's a common thing. It's just that they charge more to hunt this "pest" than they do to hunt deer, elk, etc. This is where my hunting friends give the ranchers/farmers who complain about their "pig problem" the finger.



Kj;
Hmm... sewage treatment plant, huh...
Yeah, I think I'd pass too.
A shotgun would be a little too indiscriminate, but perhaps a short .44 Mag carbine, with .44 shot-shells would work.
Again, if they didn't bathe in poo...

[Racer X]

Yeah Paul F, if the ranchers REALLY wanted the problem to go away, it would be fairly easy. But they want the hunting fees, which aren't being generated anyway, more than they want the hogs gone.

Someone in our sportsman's club went to Texas last summer and was allowed to hunt for free in a relatives' neighbor's farm. He took an AK set-up like a sniper rifle, and barely made a dent in the population. They had to take off-road quads and hunt in group of 2s and 3s so THEY were safe from the packs of hogs. Dozens in a group sometimes. Dozens against one guy could be deadly for the hunter.

[Dennis S]

I have a friend who is starting to get the hogs on his property. He's already killed one and has it in the freezer. He has a big pull-behind smoker and is going to get a big freezer and stock up.

[samintx]

I never have understood the ranchers that charge so much for feral shoots, either. They want to get rid of them but charge so much. One of the new toll roads is killing them off, tho.

[srf1957]

There is 1 introduced species that need s to go but everybody thinks it is so cute.
Wild horses overpopulate range land but everyone complains about cattle ranchers.
You need to have good press nobody complains about chukars, pheasants , or partidges
but the collared asian dove which is noisy was put on the anyway you want to kill it list in Oregon'

[Paul F.]

Any rancher who wanted feral hogs GONE, would offer a $10 bounty per hog, and lunch, to any hunting group who wanted a crack at 'em.
That ranch/farm would be free of feral pigs in a few weeks.
They're a tough hunt (pigs are SMART!), but there are a lot of hunters who want the challenge.. they're just not gonna pay $500 a pig!

[SteveG]

Paul F. wrote:
(pigs are SMART!)

If they were that smart, they'd make a counter-offer.