Comments on: Porcine Press – Swine Invasion Edition – Focus on Idaho

By: jason

jason — Sun, 16 May 2010 06:29:33 +0000

i live only about 50 miles from were these pigs were found and to be completely honest i would rather have them than the wolves. atleast the pigs wont kill all our elk. you said “But I can’t get behind the mindset of bringing in a known invasive, non-native species and turning it loose uncontrolled in a new habitat.” well believe it because that exactly what the government did with the wolf.

By: Phillip Loughlin

Phillip Loughlin — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:57:46 +0000

Arthur, it’s unfortunately a lot more common than we’d like to admit. The folks who are pointing at hunters as a leading culprit in the spread of wild hogs are not completely off-base.

In some cases, such as up around PA and MA, the problem derived from escapees from “preserves”, and that’s somewhat understandable. But in other cases, particularly in KS, OK, and some of the other states there’s no question that folks have been trapping and relocating feral hogs simply to create a huntable population… despite the fact that the activity is illegal and potentially damaging to the native species.

Once those populations are established, management and control efforts are going to require serious thought and some responses that us hunters may not like to see (professional eradication teams, poison, etc.).

By: Arthur

Arthur — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:05:15 +0000

If it was hunters who introduced them into the area, that is simply deplorable.

I wrote a post awhile back that actually talked about hunters importing these hogs in, and I never in a million years would’ve thought someone would do such a thing, especially knowing the impact these swine can have on an ecosystem.

I guess I was wrong. Or it appears that way, anyhow.