Andrew & his roommate “diehardhunter” with a 317lb feral hog

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is conducting public meetings next month to hear public comments about opening up year round night hunting on both hogs and coyotes.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is inviting the public to comment on proposed rules that will allow the hunting of feral swine and coyotes at night with a light.
The proposed seasons would be year-round, and would allow the hunting of feral swine and coyotes on Sundays on private lands with archery equipment. Night hunting is one means of controlling the population of coyotes and feral swine, both of which are non-native to North Carolina.
The public can comment online, email regulations@ncwildlife.org or attend one of the following five public hearings across the state, which will begin at 7 p.m.

March 20, Iredell County Agricultural Extension Center, 444 Bristol Dr. Statesville, N.C.
March 21, District Court #1, Buncombe County Courthouse, 60 Court Plaza Asheville, N.C.
March 26, Bladen County Courthouse, 106 W. Broad Street, Elizabethtown, N.C.
March 28, Room 153, Fulford Building, Pitt Community College, 4381 County Home Rd., Greenville, N.C.
March 29, Centennial Campus Center for Wildlife Education, 1751 Varsity Dr., Raleigh, N.C.

I’m glad to see that the proposal is to allow year round night hunting of these species cause we really don’t need them to get strongly established in this state and hunting at night is one of the most productive methods. So please weigh in and let Wildlife know this is a pretty good idea.

Prior to October 1st of this year there was little regulations around the hunting of feral hogs in North Carolina because they were “managed” under the department of agriculture and not Wildlife. That all changed and many of the practices people were using to deal with these feral pests became illegal. Trapping and night hunting were the most effective way for many landowners to deal with this feral critter and the quick switch to Wildlife for regulating them outlawed those two options.

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has worked hard on remedying these issues by earlier in December passing rules to allow for the trapping of hogs again and now this week authorizing a season for night hunting feral hogs.

Both of these methods require special permits that are available for free on NCWRC Website.

Executive Director Gordon Myers Opens up District 3 Public Hearing

Last evening I attended the NCWRC District 3 public hearing in Rocky Mount about the proposed hunting, fishing and trapping rules for next year. In the past these hearings have taken place in January but the fight over the crossbow a few years ago and the use of the 10 letter rule to delay implementation of rules has lead to an earlier date for public hearings. Turnout was pretty light with about 25 people showing up whether it was the earlier date or the lack of any really controversial rules changes being proposed was unclear. It was probably a combination of both those things but there was ample NCWRC commissioners as well as staff on hand to hear feedback from the public and to answer any questions people might of had.

Most of the discussion that took place was around changes to falconry rules, and there will be an extended meeting on that next week in Raleigh (7pm 28th Sept NCWRC Headquarters Centennial Campus), expanding of the bear season and feral hogs. In regards to the bears the population appears to be increasing and they are expanding their range getting ever closer to some of the major human population areas of the state. This will mean more bear hunting opportunities as additional counties are added to those that already have an established bear season.

Feral hog hunting as of October 1st will be managed and regulated by the NCWRC. These are an evasive specie not native to the state and if left unchecked could do significant harm to other natural resources and wildlife in the state as well as impact agriculture. In the past NCWRC has managed the wild boar in the mountains of North Carolina as of October 1st the wild boar will be classified as feral hog and not reported on a hunters big game report card.

If you missed the district hearings there is still time for you to give the NCWRC feedback on the proposed changes by doing it on line . You have until October 2nd to respond via the internet.

Additionally on the feral hog, anyone hunting them here in North Carolina the Department of Agriculture is interested in getting samples for testing for swine brucellosis.

A free, pre-paid mailer for submitting feral swine samples to the state diagnostic lab for swine brucellosis testing is available by calling the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Veterinary Division, at 919-733-7601.

Press Release Quote:

The new law was enacted in part to address the proliferation of feral swine across the landscape of North Carolina. Feral swine are not native to North Carolina, and pose threats to commercial hog farming operations and native wildlife through disease transmission and habitat destruction.

One such disease is brucellosis, which can infect people if they come in contact, through their eyes, nose, mouth or a skin cut, with infected blood, fluid or tissues from an infected wild hog. People also can become sick after eating improperly cooked meat.

Currently, surveillance testing for brucellosis in feral swine in North Carolina is quite limited. However, in areas where surveillance has occurred, rates of brucellosis have been increasing for the past three years.

NCWRC

In addition to address the double standards of dealing with wild hogs this bill also cleans up a number of other issues or at least gives the NCWRC the authority to change some things if they wish.

Press Release Quote

HB 432 also states that the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission may adopt rules prescribing seasons and the manner of taking wild animals and birds with the use of artificial light and electronic calls. It also states that hunters can take rabbits, squirrels, opossum, raccoons, fur-bearing animals, and nongame animals and birds open to hunting, with a pistol of any size. 

Hopefully this will open the door for coyote hunting at night and a few other things that would help get a better control on some of the predators in the state.

Damge of field in GSMNP by wild pigs

Residents of Rosedale drive in Elizabeth City NC have seen damage to their properties like a gang of hooligans went through with rotor tillers to their gardens and landscape. It seems they have a feral hog problem and given the rapid rate at which hogs reproduce this could be a huge problem. While residents in states like Texas and Florida have been dealing with issues from feral hogs for a while here in North Carolina it is still a sporadic occurrence.

It’s the second time feral hogs have rooted through an Elizabeth City neighborhood in five months, despite police shooting and killing nine of them last fall. They disappeared until last week, when large hogs were seen boldly walking around outbuildings and on Rosedale Drive.
Feral hogs have been around for years but have avoided roaming within city limits. The neighborhood abuts a swamp that runs along the Pasquotank River on the north side of Elizabeth City near the Albemarle Hospital.
Wildlife officials believe the feral hogs have come in from the rural areas of Camden County on the other side of the river. Feral hogs are excellent swimmers.
“They’ve populated in a bunch of counties across the state,” said Lt. Norman Watts, an enforcement officer for the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. “I don’t think we’re going to get rid of them, but we can keep them down.”
Feral hogs are prolific, typically breeding twice a year having anywhere from two to 12 piglets, according to an online report by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

Virginian – Pilot

Hardly a month goes by where I don’t run into someone or someone email’s me asking about feral hog hunting opportunities but here in North Carolina there certainly is more of a demand then there is supply. I suspect in a few years that may change. While I’d like the opportunity to hunt hogs I’m sure dreading the day they get on to the lands I hunt. They are some of the most destructive critter you’ll ever encounter and except for man there is not much else that is going to take one down never mind control them.
With that said it appears that residents in this community appear ready to allow some bow hunters come in and help knock the population off a bit. So if you are in that area it might be worth some effort to get permission to hunt.

MMMM BBQ

Tom Padgett, a N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission biologist, said they started popping up in force in North Carolina, including in Brunswick and Pender counties, about seven to 10 years ago.

Most, Norville said, followed food-plentiful low-lying areas, creeks and rivers up from South Carolina where they’ve lived for centuries. Others were brought here on purpose for hunters’ enjoyment, even though it is illegal to transport them across state lines. Still others were domestic pigs that escaped from pens or hog houses and went feral.

If let out into the woods, the offspring of a domestic pig – the cute pink ones – will transform into feral hogs in just two or three generations, Norville said.

Their snouts will elongate. They’ll grow tusks several inches long and thick, wiry hair. Their rear quarters will become skinnier and their chests deeper. A thick shield of cartilage will develop in the chest to protect vital organs from fights with other boars. This shield is so thick, hunters must ensure they choose bullet calibers powerful enough to penetrate it.

It’s hard to put a number on their population, Norville said. But whatever it is, it will inevitably increase over time.

He said a sow can begin breeding at only six months of age. She can have a litter of four to 12 piglets about every three or four months during any time of the year. These piglets have a low mortality rate because the mother is extremely protective.

Then six months later, those female piglets can breed, and so on.

“We’re talking exponential growth here,” Norville said. “Normal hunting operations don’t tend to control them.”

Grown feral pigs in Southeastern North Carolina average about 150 pounds, Padgett said. But hunters’ motion cameras have taken photos of pigs in the 300 to 400 pound range, he said.

There are no natural predators. Norville encourages anyone who finds a wild pig on their property to go ahead and kill it.

He’s had reports of wild pig sightings on farms and in subdivisions.

Star News

The Star News had a pretty long article that is worth checking out. While feral hogs are expanding the demand to hunt them seems to out strip the opportunities to hunt. Access to areas where they are concentrated are often leased up, unavailable, or pricey to hunt. Probably one of the most common questions I get ask is “where can I hunt hogs?” If everything I’ve read and been told turns out to be true about the hog we’ll all have plenty of hunting opportunities because of their rapid growth.

I have had some feral hog to eat and I can attest that it is some good stuff.

Harvey Bell, a Brunswick County farmer with a wild pig problem, said he and his friends find their meat quite tasty. He roasts them in a barrel cooker.

“I couldn’t tell much difference in them,” Bell said. “We skin them instead of scald them, and cook them like you do a commercial hog. It’s just easier to skin them” because their hair is so thick, he said.

In addition to using feral hogs in traditional eastern North Carolina barbecue, some locals are turning the animals into fine cuisine.

Star News had a companion article about eating feral hog. In a day and age when newspapers are shying away from hunting articles it’s good to see Star News and a few others that still cover our traditions.

John Poswall has a problem. He lives on 50 acres in the hills of Lincoln. He has a beautiful house, beautiful landscaping and a beautiful view of the wildlife that parades across his land – deer, wild turkey, quail, waterfowl.
What could be wrong with that?
Pigs, that’s what. Wild hogs come up from the creek at night and root their way across the property, leaving a wake of landscaping so thoroughly turned that you’d think it had been rototilled.
The mere thought of such mayhem puts a big, inappropriate grin on my face. I am a pig hunter, and what Poswall sees as a problem sounds like dinner to me

What really makes this story so interesting is that fellow blogger Phillip Loughlin of the Hog Blog is featured in the story . Check it out and isn’t it great that a newspaper on the left coast would carry a pro hunting story.

Based on images from motion-detecting cameras, biologists first believed one sow with piglets, possibly a second sow and a boar were in the lake area.

Late last month, they trapped a sow – weighing in at a hefty 220 pounds – with eight offspring. The animals were tranquilized and euthanized by injection.

“She was the one we worried about,” said Chris Matthews, the park department’s natural resources manager. Female hogs can start reproducing at 7 months old, giving birth to up to 12 piglets once or twice a year.

Biologists continue to set traps for the lone boar, a little smaller than the sow, that they believe is still in the area. He’s the only hog that cameras are still photographing.

Charlotte Observer

Eliminating them now before they get a foothold is the way to control them, once established hogs are a destructive creature that is nearly impossible to get rid of.

Hog damage in meadow inside Cataloochee Valley GSMNP It appears like someone tilled up a large section of the meadow.

Park biologist Bill Stiver told the Knoxville News-Sentinel the introduction of wild, semi-domesticated hogs into the park has made hog control even more difficult.
“The speculation is that hunters are illegally releasing feral pigs that eventually make their way inside the park,” Stiver said. “It’s a major problem not just here, but all over North America.”
He said numerous hogs killed this year had spotted markings and curly tails associated with domestic pigs.
“We’re getting a handful of animals that morphologically look different from our traditional wild boar,” Stiver said. “Some of them act different, too. Instead of running away, they let you walk up to them.”

Citizen Times

The last few times I’ve been in the park I’ve seen the damage the hogs are doing but I’ve never seen a hog in the park. While they maybe nocturnal there is no mistaking the signs they leave behind. While hunting and trapping is the best method to control hogs the National Parks historically will rarely allow hunting except for “professional hunters” (individuals hired by the government) which irks me because a limited draw hunt would pay for itself if not make some money for the park. Also it is not clear what is done with the animals after they are killed if it was a limited draw hunt they would be table fare for sure. There is ample evidence from hunts conducted in urban areas as well as county / state parks that such hunts can be conducted safely.
On the topic of releasing hogs into the wild I’m dumbfounded that folks would do this knowing the damage these critters can cause. Hogs are some of the most destructive animals that you can find and with all the areas that are having trouble with them why release any more?

A park worker spotted the first boar in Cowans Ford Wildlife Refuge in November, and motion-detecting cameras have snapped several portraits there since. They’re the first ever seen on county property.
Wild boars are most familiar in North Carolina’s western tip, where they’re hunted. But their number and range are growing statewide.
It may seem a little exciting to know that bristly, 180-pound hogs are roaming the outskirts of Charlotte, grandly tossing their tusks. But biologists groan at the prospect.
“We’re not talking about nice, sweet, pink piggies,” said Chris Matthews, the county park department’s natural resources manager. “These guys just don’t belong here.”

Charlotte Observer

Mecklenburg County is not alone when it comes to problems with hogs there are pockets of them across the state. Will North Carolina become another Texas or Florida with widespread problems with hogs? I don’t think so but who knows for sure. While the opportunity to hunt pigs is appealing seeing them spread across the state is overall a very bad thing. The damage they cause will be devastating to the areas they occupy and may forever reshape the landscape of the state.