As always, I’ve been keeping an eye on North Carolina hunting news, and a couple of things have popped up lately.
First, there’s the discussion going on the Black Bear Blog, and now on Moose Droppings, about the town of Smithfield enlisting police officers to cull the whitetail herd in town. Of course, the preference of everyone is to present this as an opportunity to hunters, but that preference has to be tempered with realism. Most folks are going to be much happier knowing that law enforcement officers, trained to safely use firearms in the urban/suburban environment are doing the job. But there is an option of allowing hunters who receive similar (often better) training and certification to do the job. The question is, are there any hunters there with the appropriate training and certification? Follow this one either at Moose’s blog, or on Tom Remington’s Black Bear Blog.
The other article is also from Moose’s site. Looks like NC is trying to get in on the “Hogzilla” game too! Read this piece from the Raleigh News and Observer about this 780lb feral hog that was taken recently in Nash County.
A note on that article. The hunter who shot the hog had heard that castration can lessen the gaminess of wild hogs, so he cut off the testicles before he started the field dressing. Unfortunately, the hog smelled so strong that he decided not to process it and, after weighing, buried the carcass. The article didn’t say what he did with the “oysters”.
For anyone interested, the castration trick only works while the hog is still alive. Once castrated, the “barr hog” will no longer seek sex, and will not produce the musky odor that is often associated with big boars. Since they’re no longer seeking sex, they also tend to stop fighting, so barr hogs usually have much better tusks… improving trophy value. Basically, all they’ll do then is eat and get fat and tasty. Catching and castrating wild hogs is a fairly popular aspect of hog hunting in Texas and Florida. I’m not sure if it’s even legal in CA, but I’ve never heard of anyone doing it here.
To recap, though… cutting off the family jewels AFTER harvest will have no impact whatsoever on the quality of the meat. So there’s your hog hunting tip for this week.
Steve
Slacker
Mike Gaylord
Oh boy, Phillip, I hate to be cantankerous, but I’m a little disturbed by the guy killing the pig, then just burying it because it was stanky. OK, that was a lie: I’m a lot disturbed. This is the kind of thing that makes hunters look like callous idiots. If you’re gonna take a life, the least you can do is make use of it. Grrrr!
I’ve never killed any boar, much les a smelly one, but I’ve eaten spoonies and coots – legendary for their fishy smell and flavor – because wanton waste is inexcusable. And oh yeah, isn’t it illegal too?