As usual, I was browsing through my RSS feeds to see what’s happening in the world of the wild hog, and stumbled across this article in the Australian online version of the Courier Mail. The article is a profile and interview with a couple of the helicopter-borne sharpshooters who are working to eradicate the wild and feral hogs from some of the most environmentally sensitive areas.
An interesting sidenote to this article is this one, detailing the discovery of empty weapons crates that apparently once contained rocket-propelled grenades washed up on the beach near where they were working. I don’t know about anyone else, but this kind of thing makes me a little nervous. Hopefully it’s the product of some kind of legitimate military exercise… I’d hate to think these things are in the hands of the wrong folks.
Not a whole lot else of note taking place right now. The discussion in Pennsylvania still centers around the likelihood that the release of feral pigs into the wild should be illegal, and in Kansas they’re still trying to figure out how best to eradicate the wily and resilient creatures. Michigan will, once again, be promoting the harvest of feral hogs by all hunters in their “shoot on sight” program.
Here in California, the lead ammo ban discussion is getting a little breather, as the Fish and Game Commission decided to postpone a vote on the subject. Key questions right now seem to be how to enforce a ban, and the negative impact on hunters if non-lead alternatives aren’t readily available. The next meeting of the Fish and Game Commission is scheduled for June 7, in Truckee, CA.
The only other news of note about CA hog hunting is that I haven’t been out in a while and I’m getting the itch. I hope to change that in the next week or so, and if all goes well, there’ll be fresh pork in my freezer before May!
