Hog Wild
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“Some people think toxicants and contraceptives could
be the cure-all for pigs,” Jaworowski said. “That was discussed – that it was not true. These are just more tools for
the toolbox. right now there are no approved speciesspecific toxicants (poisons) or contraceptives in the
united States. We’re hoping that within three, five or 10
years those tools will be available to everyone.”
Jaworowski thinks one important bit of news highlighted
during the conference is that the u.S. Congress has allocated $20 million for feral hog control.
“That’s a huge step,” he said. “We’ve finally had Congress
recognize that the nation has a pig problem, but this is a
long-term process. This is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Jaworowski said Auburn graduate student rachel Conley
participated in a research project that sought to identify
the distribution of wild pigs across Alabama. Conley enlisted the help of WFF’s conservation enforcement officers to
map wild pig populations in each county.
Conley’s research indicated feral hogs are in 64 of
Alabama’s 67 counties with 36 counties reporting an
increase in the pig population in the last five years. That
pig distribution covered 38.3 percent of the land base in
Alabama.
Jaworowski, who manages the Lowndes County Wildlife
management Area, said WFF is looking at ways to deter
people from moving live wild hogs. it is already against
the law to transport wild hogs, but it is happening anyway.
WFF Director Chuck Sykes has proposed a change to feral
hog regulations that requires that any hog caught by trap
or by dogs must be killed at the site of capture before it
is moved.
“We’ve got to get increased fines and penalties,” he said.
“We’ve got to get people to look at risk versus reward. it’s
got to be more expensive to get caught trying to move
them.
“And we’ve got to teach landowners how to trap hogs.
The most beneficial method is to make it a collaborative
effort where all the landowners in an area are on the same
page with trapping and control programs.”
That brings up the question of what to do with the feral
hogs once reduced to bag. Wild pigs can carry pseudorabies and brucellosis, so proper handling is a must.
“We recommend using gloves when cleaning wild pigs,
and stay away from the reproductive tract,” Ditchkoff
said. “i’ve eaten a bunch of them, and they make the best
sausage in the world. most people can’t figure out why
wild hog sausage is so good. But if you go to the store and
buy sausage, that’s the worst meat off the pig. With a wild
pig, you use the hams, backstraps and tenderloins. You’re
grinding that into sausage, and it is delicious.”
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