Today seems like a good day for a new edition of the Porcine Press. Why? Mostly because I couldn’t think of anything else to write about.
So, for starters, here’s a big one from South Carolina. As reported in several SC news sources, including the SunNews, the SC legislature has passed some new laws related to hunting… and in particular, to hog hunting:
New laws, passed by the legislature this year, aim to rein in three problem species – wild hogs, coyotes and renegade hunters.
All three have been spreading in recent years, according to wildlife officials and law-abiding hunters. The bills passed this legislative session won’t get rid of any of the problems, but they could slow their spread.
The hog bill received little attention but might be the most important of the changes, according to wildlife officials. One provision makes it illegal to capture wild hogs and transport them to other areas of the state. The law also allows night hunting of hogs.
Of course, the article goes on to list the standard reasons that wild hogs are “bad” and must be managed. Among the risks of disease and crop damage, they also talk about the potential damage to ecosystems. I don’t completely disagree with all of that reasoning, of course, but I really wish they’d do a little more research to support the “environmental damage” claims. (Sorry, slipping into broken record mode…)
Anyway, something that I do totally agree with is the argument that a good reason these animals are expanding so quickly across the state is that hunting clubs and landowners are trapping and transporting them. Until now, that activity hasn’t really been illegal, but it’s pretty short-sighted. I attribute it not so much to people not caring, as to simple ignorance and poor understanding of the Law of Unintended Consequences. You’d think that, with all the problems southern farmers have had with the exploding deer populations, bringing in another crop pest that is even more prolific and destructive would be the last thing local landowners would want to do. But there ya go…
As far as the night shooting, I’m definitely unopposed to that tactic. As a control method, it’s probably one of the best ways outside of largescale trapping or poison. I wouldn’t be too surprised to see night shooting opened up in other states too, before much longer. I do wish I had stock in a nightvision company right now, though, as I fully expect to see the sales of these devices to jump. I also expect to see more outfits like JagerPro taking assorted nimrods into the field to experience a night hunt.
The other note of interest to me from this SC legislative session, was the restriction on hound hunters from running their dogs on property boundaries without the expressed permission of the neighboring landowner. The problem, getting worse for years, was that some houndsmen let their deer dogs run onto neighboring properties. While the majority of legitimate hunting clubs and groups work hard to control this, there are an awful lot of so-called “renegades” who intentionally allow their dogs to range private property. Antiquated range laws allowed them to enter private land to “recover their stock”, so they’d use the old laws to essentially hunt wherever they felt like it. There was little recourse for the landowner, and many of these incidents turned into physical altercations. People have been shot and killed over it.
In my opinion, this was a much-needed ruling. I hope NC picks up the ball on this one and fashions their own law (I think they’re working on something as you can see over at the Moose Droppings blog).
In other news, I stumbled across a kind of cool article in a Nebraska news outlet, the Grand Island Independent. Like many newspapers across the country, early summer is time for articles on vacation destinations. However, most other newspapers aren’t writing about hunting opportunities. This column in the Independent’s sports section isn’t earth-shattering or hugely newsworthy, but I really enjoyed reading some good, general discussion about hog hunting, followed by a report on a group that goes down to Texas for an annual hunt. There’s not a lot of hyperbole about how dangerous or tough hogs can be, and except for some boilerplate about ecological damage, there’s not a lot damning the hogs for existing either. It’s just a nicely written piece of work.
And to wrap up, appropriately, with a little fluff from the entertainment industry. I posted earlier this week that Pig Hunt was going to be released on DVD, and that they are in the running for theatrical release (go vote now, if you haven’t). What I didn’t notice then was the new entry from South Korea, CHAW! I guess the film is being screened now at the 2010 NY Asian Film Festival, and the reviews haven’t been too bad. For example, you can see what The Brooklyn Rail had to say about it, or click over to the Fangoria site for another reasonably, lukewarm review. No, neither of these flicks are likely to be considered great art on the scale of Citizen Kane or even Satyricon, but they promise a lot of grins and some content that’s custom made for sitting around a hog hunting camp after dark, with some friends, a bottle of tequila (or scotch) and some tasty snacks.
Interesting stuff going on.
On the night hunting, I’m a tad concerned, and I think I’d like to see a law that would require some experienced person go along, too. Shooting from roads is illegal, and so folks will need to go traipsing off into the dark nights, and yet still keep their geographic wits about them. Perceptions at night change dramatically, especially with the effects of lighting, and few people have real experience with night vision equipment. I completely agree that night hunting is the only real way to start controlling pigs, but I don’t think I yet trust the public to do it right – and I think the media fallout from some yayhoos here might do us more harm.