I crack myself up… the Porcine Press.  Maybe that’ll be the header for all of these wild hog related news releases?  Whaddayathink?

So anyway, here it is in a nutshell. 

Besides reports of a wild boar in Barcelona stopping traffic on a major freeway, I didn’t find much of the strange or humorous in the RSS feeds today.  What I did see is a spreading concern among pig farmers that feral hogs pose a big threat to their industry, particularly as carriers of pseudo-rabies. 

In answer to that threat, states are cracking down on the importation and release of feral hogs.  In Kansas, according to this article from the Pratt Tribune, it is illegal to run a hog hunt for profit (guiding, fenced hunts, etc.) and a $5000 fine will be levelled against any operator for each day they hunt.  Likewise, importing or releasing feral hogs onto public or private property will result in a $5000 fine, per hog.  In the meantime, Kansas hunters can request a pig license which is free, and hunt year round with no limit on the number of hogs they kill. 

Michigan is also considering some fairly drastic measures, including requiring the removal of wild hogs from the state’s game ranches, and a ban on further importation or release…even on high-fence ranches!  You can read more about the joint commission’s recommendations in this article from the Michigan Farmer. 

A little while back, we read about a possible case of pseudo-rabies in a feral hog taken in Nebraska.  It turned out to be a false alarm there, but now it appears that feral hogs may be responsible for an outbreak in a domestic herd up in Wisconsin.  You can read more about this one here.

This is what they’ve all been afraid of, and the outbreak resulted in an order to destroy all hogs in a five mile radius of the outbreak.  Some farmers are gonna take a beating over this one. 

Well, the only response I have to any of this is to say, “hey!  Get out there and kill some wild hogs!  Not only are they great fun to hunt, you may be doing your state, the environment, and local farmers a big favor!”

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