Canadian super pigs

[spike.t]

‘Incredibly intelligent, highly elusive’: US faces new threat from Canadian ‘super pig’

Northern states on alert for invasion of cross-bred pig that threatens flora and fauna – and is difficult to stop

www.theguardian.com

 

[sgt_zim]

Even down here in Texas, there are lots of feral hogs that are crossed with Russian stock. The less concave the face is, the more Russian stock genetics there are likely to be in the pig. Most domesticated swine species have at least a bit of forehead, Russian stock has little or none; and the snouts are usually a lot shorter.

Common domesticated breeds
Duroc

Poland China

Hampshire

Russian boar

In Texas, hogs range from this

to this (clear domesticated blood lines in these), but there are a couple with longish snouts and flatter faces

The biologic specific epithet for them all, domesticated or pure wild Russian boar, is the same: Sus scrofa

 

[Red Leg]

Also, after a few generations the uniform black color seems to predominate.

 

[Mark A Ouellette]

I live in a farming area just north of Detroit, Michigan. I am ready, willing, and waiting for Canadian Porkers to start traveling south to my property.

PS: I know they are nocturnal. For Porky, I would lower myself and take the IR sighted AR into the blind. Hmmm, I also have an early Armalite AR-10T heavy barrel for any big pigs! Boy oh boy! That would be a blast!

 

[sgt_zim]

I live in a farming area just north of Detroit, Michigan. I am ready, willing, and waiting for Canadian Porkers to start traveling south to my property.

PS: I know they are nocturnal. For Porky, I would lower myself and take the IR sighted AR into the blind. Hmmm, I also have an early Armalite AR-10T heavy barrel for any big pigs! Boy oh boy! That would be a blast!

At least down here, they only go nocturnal once there is hunting pressure. It doesn't take long for them to wise up, but there will be a honeymoon period when they can be hunted during daylight.

A good friend of mine, his mom had (she died last year) a HUGE place about an hour west of Killeen. When they first got there, it was the happy hunting grounds during daylight. But it took about 2 weeks for the pigs to change their patterns. They were nocturnal forever after that.

 

[sgt_zim]

On the idea of IR or starlight scopes...I don't own one. But I've killed a crap ton of pigs out as far as 100 yards or so with a strong flashlight that has a red or green filter on the lens. That won't work very well once they've started running, but while they're unaware of your presence and grubbing around for corn, it works pretty well. If you're patient, you can often get a two-fer. I've done that more than once when 2 pigs are lined up - with my 45-70 and with my 308 Win.

And quite honestly, unless you're just in eradication mode, 2 or 3 is as many as I'd care to clean after a hunt anyway. Even when it's cold out, they still smell like feet and ass - or, to quote Corporal Ray Person, like "4 days of piss and ball sweat." It only gets worse when it's warm.

 

[RR 314]

On the idea of IR or starlight scopes...I don't own one. But I've killed a crap ton of pigs out as far as 100 yards or so with a strong flashlight that has a red or green filter on the lens. That won't work very well once they've started running, but while they're unaware of your presence and grubbing around for corn, it works pretty well. If you're patient, you can often get a two-fer. I've done that more than once when 2 pigs are lined up - with my 45-70 and with my 308 Win.

And quite honestly, unless you're just in eradication mode, 2 or 3 is as many as I'd care to clean after a hunt anyway. Even when it's cold out, they still smell like feet and ass - or, to quote Corporal Ray Person, like "4 days of piss and ball sweat." It only gets worse when it's warm.

I have killed 4 with one primer detonation with the .458 Lott. Looks like we could use a border fence up north as well.

 

[BRICKBURN]

I can't go outside my home anymore there are so many wandering the streets. It's like a Zombie invasion. Thanks to the Guardian giving me the heads up.

https://www.alberta.ca/wild-boar-control-program.aspx

We will see how much money they paid out in the pilot project. I can see all the successful hunters retiring from their new sideline.

 

[dobber]

Haven't seen any sign of pigs at my place on the Western side of the Province, and guy that works for me in Red deer hasn't seen anything either.
I did hunt them years ago at a fenced operation in Ontario, them pigs in the wintertime would hit the water, just the snouts out of the water, kind of made sense with everything above the ice/water was froze, the water was not freezing which means its warmer

 

[FlowHamed18]

I am ready, willing, and waiting for Canadian Porkers to start traveling south to my property.

Don't wish for such things, they might come true.

In the first year there are 15 pigs, then 50, then 150 and then 300 up to 500.
That's the moment when hunting pigs is getting really hard work to avoid the damage they definitely will create on all fields and all meadows within their reach...

The propagation rate here in Austria is approximately between 150% and 300% per year... that's not fun anymore...

Don't get me wrong, I love hunting pigs in snow or in shiny nights... but it's hard work to kill 100 to 150 pieces each year, including nights with -15 degrees Celsius because of the perfect moon light

 

[BRICKBURN]

Haven't seen any sign of pigs at my place on the Western side of the Province, and guy that works for me in Red deer hasn't seen anything either.

They certainly can not be ignored given the crazy results we can see in some US states. The control guys don't want hunters training the pigs by shooting one at a time . As our neighbours to the south have learned; trapping entire sounders at once is the way to eradication/control. If I bumped into a single, I'd certainly participate. I think I will save the gas money and buy lottery tickets. I stand a better chance of success.

It always amazes me that the brainiacs in the Agriculture department allow a known invasive species/disease (First CWD-Deer/Elk farms and then pigs) into the province for "diversification", ignoring/denying the inevitable negative consequences.

 

[sgt_zim]

couple things to keep in mind about swine biology.

1. sows can have a litter of piglets every 5 months. gestation is 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days. that's 12 litters every 5 years. sows are sexually mature before they reach their first birthday.
2. feral swine were not the nuisance when we were kids that they are today thanks to swine cholera. The USDA, in conjunction with other federal and state agencies, eliminated cholera from the domesticated swine population, which benefitted feral swine immensely and quite obviously. I don't recall the mortality rate of swine cholera off the top of my head, but it seems like it's north of 90% and it's insanely infectious.

In deference to @BRICKBURN , yes, trapping is more effective than shooting, but that isn't saying much. Not to mention that effective hog traps are expensive

 

[BRICKBURN]

In deference to @BRICKBURN , yes, trapping is more effective than shooting, but that isn't saying much. Not to mention that effective hog traps are expensive

We are still really in the infancy of the invasion. You are spot on about that cost. Individual farmers are not likely going to. The government department needs to spend that money and solve the problem they started. The can spend those millions in tax revenue they gained from the great wild hog diversification.

 

[steve white]

From the title, I first thought this was going to be about Canadian politicians....

 

[BRICKBURN]

From the title, I first thought this was going to be about Canadian politicians....

Can we export some, please!

 

[Hunter4752001]

I see the article quotes the typical shiboleths from the Ag Dept's feral swine management program. Bureaucratic parasites, blaming hunters and farmers because they haven't been doing their job. When challenged they just bluster but can't provide evidence. Humans have been cultivating pigs since the dawn of time. And of course there will be leakage to the wild. Over time pest population get a certain critical mass and then start to explode. The time to have high intensity control programs was a decades ago. Here in Australia some highly effective baiting systems such as Hoggone (sodium nitrate) are being trailed. However much more needs to be done.

The domestic pig is nothing more than the result of controlled breeding. Remove the control and they start returning to natural type and adapting to the climate conditions relevant to wherever they are, No need to dream up blame theories about deliberate cross breeding. Just natural selection in progress.

 

[Louis Toadvine]

 

[Sarg]

couple things to keep in mind about swine biology.

1. sows can have a litter of piglets every 5 months. gestation is 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days. that's 12 litters every 5 years. sows are sexually mature before they reach their first birthday.
2. feral swine were not the nuisance when we were kids that they are today thanks to swine cholera. The USDA, in conjunction with other federal and state agencies, eliminated cholera from the domesticated swine population, which benefitted feral swine immensely and quite obviously. I don't recall the mortality rate of swine cholera off the top of my head, but it seems like it's north of 90% and it's insanely infectious.

In deference to @BRICKBURN , yes, trapping is more effective than shooting, but that isn't saying much. Not to mention that effective hog traps are expensive

I was control shooting Pigs & Deer last year, & my Boss bought a expensive trap & said he would clean the pigs up with a few of these, I laughed & said it wouldn't hold a piglet or two, long story short, he was proudly showing us the first day after he set the trap with Corn & dead Deer, it was near a track so we could passed in a Side by Side & he lead on the bike, well when we saw it it looked like a bomb had gone off inside it, thrown in the air, ever piece of wire mesh ripped off, door torn off, it looked like a vengeful pig had destroyed it on purpose & spent some time doing so !

Here is a few Boars I shot in one contact where I manged to take 8 pigs

I was targeting the pigs more than the Deer as they were destroying the very earth we stood on & it was a steep erosion prone area .

Over night most of the Deer & even these large Boars were eaten by other pigs & the area was cleaned up by them, only near the end did we see carcass laying about from the first days shooting.

I shot over 900 animals in the weeks we spent there over about 3-4 Winter/Spring months.

 

[freefall]

I would think trapping/poisoning will prove the only way to control them.

 

[sgt_zim]

I would think trapping/poisoning will prove the only way to control them.

Poisoning them is a whole other set of risks. Texas did a limited experiment on poisoning a few years ago with warfarin (a blood thinner, it's routinely given to human patients who have significant clot risk; was also used as rat poison in years past). Certainly kills the pigs, but apparently the carcasses then pose a risk to carrion eaters like vultures.

And then there's the whole thing about keeping other animals from eating what we're only wanting the pigs to eat.