Texas to feral pigs: It's time for the 'hog apocalypse' to begin

[AfricaHunting.com]

Maria Gallucci

Texas has a new plan for its 2.5 million feral hogs: total annihilation.

Sid Miller, the state's agriculture commissioner, just approved a pesticide — called "Kaput Feral Hog Lure" — for statewide use.

"The 'hog apocalypse' may finally be on the horizon," Miller said in a statement on Tuesday.

SEE ALSO: First human-pig chimeras created, sparking hopes for transplantable organs — and debate

"This solution is long overdue," he added. "Wild hogs have caused extensive damage to Texas lands and loss of income for many, many years."

Texas's agriculture commission estimates that feral hogs cause $52 million in damage each year to agricultural businesses by tearing up crops and pastures, knocking down fences and ruining equipment.

The so-called hog lure is derived from warfarin, a blood-thinning agent that's also used to kill rats and mice in homes and buildings. Animals don't die immediately from eating the odorless, tasteless chemical. That would be too kind. Instead, they keep eating it until the anti-clotting properties cause them to bleed to death internally.

This week, Miller approved a rule change in the Texas Administrative Code that allows landowners and agricultural producers to use Kaput — essentially warfarin-laced pellets — to keep feral hogs off their property.

Proponents of the hog toxicant, including the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service, say it's an effective tool because it's only strong enough to kill the swine, and not other wildlife populations or livestock.

In January, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency registered Kaput's hog bait under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, a move that made the product available for general use.

Still, environmentalists and hog hunters alike staunchly oppose using warfarin to stamp out Texas's feral pig problem.

Pigs poop, after all, and other animals could ingest the warfarin along the way. Some Texans hunt the pigs for sport and food, and they're worried about eating poisoned swine.

"For Texas to introduce a poison into the equation is a bad decision in our opinion and could likely contaminate humans who unknowingly process and eat feral hogs," the Texas Hog Hunters Association said in a Change.org petition to block the rule change.

Louisiana might become the next state to use Kaput to quell its feral hog population, which worries state wildlife veterinarian Jim LaCour. He said local black bears and raccoons could easily lift the lid to the cages containing the warfarin-laced pellets.

"We do have very serious concerns about non-target species," LaCour told the Times-Picayune in New Orleans.

"When the hogs eat, they're going to drop crumbs on the outside, where small rodents can get them and not only intoxicate themselves but also birds of prey that eat them. Since the poison will be on the landscape for weeks on end, the chances of these birds eating multiple affected animals is pretty good," he told the newspaper.

The pesticide's manufacturer, Scimetrics Ltd. Corp., assures the pesticide is safe for humans and wildlife — just not for feral pigs.



Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/texas-feral-pigs-time-hog-153314975.html

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

Hunters worried about state plan to control hogs with pesticide
By Amanda Brandeis

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas agriculture officials have a new strategy to fight what they call an “ongoing war” with feral hogs. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has approved the use of warfarin-based products to control them.

In humans, the drug warfarin is used as a blood thinner. When used as a pesticide, it can be deadly to animals. According to Miller’s office, extensive testing of warfarin has been conducted in Texas since 2008. They hope to give agriculture producers and landowners in Texas a new tool to fight the destructive hogs.

According to a spokesman, there are special feeders engineered for the hogs in order to limit the bait to the feral hog population. There are also procedures for “training” the hogs over time to take from the feeders before they are baited. The label approved by the Texas Department of Agriculture is specifically designated as limited use because of these extra precautions. Anyone distributing the bait will have to be licensed.

However, some are concerned this method will have unintended consequences, like hurting other species.

David Haehn is the director of the Hogs for a Cause ministry and worries other animals could die after eating a hog poisoned by warfarin. “A feral hog that will consume food at a feeder will easily move a mile away at night away from that feeder, and so if that animal dies more than a mile way, how do you protect the wildlife?” said Haehn.

He spends countless hours baiting and catching feral hogs with traps. They then turn them into USDA-inspected meat to feed people in need. Over seven years he estimates they’ve provided 250,000 pounds of meat to food banks, the local population and others who’ve requested it.

“They have a difficult job and they’re trying to find a solution for that difficult problem, and I don’t think this is the answer to that, but I also don’t know what they answer is,” said Haehn.

Haehn also worries he wouldn’t be able to feed people with the contaminated meat.

The Texas Hog Hunters Association has started an online petition to stop the change from moving forward. They want to see more research on the issue before moving forward with the rule.

They sent this statement to KXAN:

Where we are full of unknowns on this matter we do know this.

1. Introducing a poison into the environment will have negative impacts on non targeted species.
2. What about unsuspecting Hunters harvesting and processing hog for themselves or their family unknowingly poisoned with this bait. Hogs do not just stay in the same area all the time, they roam and cover a lot of territory.
3. How about species that scavenge upon deceased carcasses such as buzzards and coyotes etc. , this will now be passed on into their system and all this can have a serious negative impact and balance on nature.

We support Hunters rights by any and all legal means, we support education to the public about feral hogs and we support conservation efforts by landowners including farmers and ranchers. We certainly support the hunting industry as a whole in which this certainly will impact.

What we are demanding at this point is all studies and information be released publicly for review and evaluation and for commissioner Miller to halt any further actions to move this forward until it has been publicly examined and scrutinized by others from the industry.
The state agriculture spokesman tells KXAN that the hog’s fatty tissues are dyed blue from the bait so anyone hunting the hogs would know it had ingested that much warfarin. He says if the meat were ingested, a person would have to eat two pounds of wild hog liver to ingest as much warfarin as the low-end of a normal daily dose for a person that’s on warfarin for blood clot prevention

The feral hog is estimated at 2.6 million, causing about $52 million in damage a year for the agriculture industry.

Commissioner Miller and the manufacturer of the pesticide will hold a press briefing on the issue Tuesday.



Source: http://kxan.com/2017/02/20/hunters-worried-about-state-plan-to-control-hogs-with-pesticide/

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

Fearing "feral hog apocalypse," Texas approves drastic measures

NORTH TEXAS -- Announcing the “feral hog apocalypse” is within reach, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has approved of the first pesticide targeting wild pigs, CBS Dallas reports.

The estimated 2.5 million feral hogs in Texas cost an estimated $50 million a year in damage to Texas agriculture, according to the Austin American-Statesman. In addition to the damage to crops and livestock tanks, hogs cost untold damage to suburban yards.

Miller said they will use the pesticide, Kaput Feral Hog Lure, as bait food laced with warfarin which is the same drug used to kill rats. It can also be prescribed by doctors, in smaller doses, to prevent blood clots

But the move has upset hunters, who’ve gathered more than 1,200 signatures in opposition within two days.

“We don’t think poison is the way to go,” said Eydin Hansen, Vice President of the Texas Hog Hunters Association.

He prefers hunting and trapping methods to control the invasive species.

Hansen has been hunting hogs since he was 16.

“It’s a way to feed your family,” he said.

He worries soon he won’t want to take that risk.

“If this hog is poisoned, do I want to feed it to my family? I can tell you, I don’t.”

Hunters and conservationists are afraid other animals may be exposed to toxin.

“If a hog dies, what eats it? Coyotes, buzzards…” said Hansen. “We’re gonna affect possibly the whole ecosystem.”

The Kaput product website claims its low toxicity decreases that risk.

The company has also created a bait station to disseminate it that limits access to other wildlife.

Hansen remains skeptical.

“I personally don’t think it’s going to work,” he said.

Miller told the state, in light of the product’s approval, his department would no longer need $900,000 earmarked for feral hog control research.

As a state senator, Miller authored legislation that allowed for the shooting of wild hogs from helicopters. Now, more than 27,000 wild pigs are killed that way, according to the Austin American-Statesman.



Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fearing...-drastic-measures/?ftag=YHF4eb9d17&yptr=yahoo

 

[wesheltonj]

I just read the label, I don't know what rancher that going to be able to use this stuff. You cannot have cattle on the same pasture as the bait for 90 days. You have to use rubber gloves to handle the bait or the dead animal. Has to be placed in a "special hog feeder" and the hogs must to conditioned to open the feeder lid. You have to monitor the bait station and remove the dead hogs from the area and buried to a minimum depth of 18 inches

 

[gizmo]

I gotta say i'm completely opposed to this and not just because I make part of my living from hog hunts. First off the unknown effects it will have on non target species at best could be bad and worst catastrophic to game and non game populations. Second, yes hogs cause millions in damage to ag, believe me I know I cant get wheat insured because of it, but..... they generate millions in revenue to the same farmers who are bitching about hog damage. Those same people lease their lands to be hunted and or sell guided hunts. You cant have your cake and eat it to. Third it takes away a lot from over all sport hunting in Texas many of kids in the last 20 years first game animal was a hog. Additionally whats going to happen when someone kills an infected pig and eats it? If they get sick, whether can be proven to be as a result from the chemical or not, lawsuits are going to start flying and create a monster I guarantee it.

 

[wesheltonj]

I gotta say i'm completely opposed to this and not just because I make part of my living from hog hunts. First off the unknown effects it will have on non target species at best could be bad and worst catastrophic to game and non game populations. Second, yes hogs cause millions in damage to ag, believe me I know I cant get wheat insured because of it, but..... they generate millions in revenue to the same farmers who are bitching about hog damage. Those same people lease their lands to be hunted and or sell guided hunts. You cant have your cake and eat it to. Third it takes away a lot from over all sport hunting in Texas many of kids in the last 20 years first game animal was a hog. Additionally whats going to happen when someone kills an infected pig and eats it? If they get sick, whether can be proven to be as a result from the chemical or not, lawsuits are going to start flying and create a monster I guarantee it.

You cannot eat the hog and you have to bury the hog to keep other animals from eating the hog.

I don't sell or lease for hog hunts, I just want the things dead. But this product is not going to work for me.

 

[gizmo]

I signed the petition. Also I have a hard time buying this whole deal just because the company that makes the chemical says, "Oh trust me it will be fine".

 

[Ridgewalker]

Gizmo said "Oh trust me it will be fine".
I agree. It's like watching the TV drug adds where all the cautions take longer to state than the drug add! "This might kill you if.....you are living and breathing," etc.
I didn't do well in chemistry, but I don't trust big government nor big pharma.
JMO

 

[spike.t]

"Kaput Feral Hog Lure"...........must confess when i read the name of it i did go check it wasnt april 1st.........

 

[Shootist43]

It would be nice if there was a website where farmers and or ranchers could post their willingness to have hunters come to their property and remove a large number of hogs. Almost all of the land in Texas is owned by someone. There is very little if any State or Federal land where hunters can go for free. The ranchers and farmers lease the hunting rights for their property to individuals or groups. Most of the lease owners are deer hunters, hence the excess number of hogs. I've been on several hog hunts in Texas. My cost per pound for feral hogs was more than I'd have to pay a butcher for farm raised pigs. No wonder they have a problem.

 

[Royal27]

I gotta say i'm completely opposed to this and not just because I make part of my living from hog hunts. First off the unknown effects it will have on non target species at best could be bad and worst catastrophic to game and non game populations. Second, yes hogs cause millions in damage to ag, believe me I know I cant get wheat insured because of it, but..... they generate millions in revenue to the same farmers who are bitching about hog damage. Those same people lease their lands to be hunted and or sell guided hunts. You cant have your cake and eat it to. Third it takes away a lot from over all sport hunting in Texas many of kids in the last 20 years first game animal was a hog. Additionally whats going to happen when someone kills an infected pig and eats it? If they get sick, whether can be proven to be as a result from the chemical or not, lawsuits are going to start flying and create a monster I guarantee it.

I think this sums it up well. Maybe some kind of poison is needed as an option, maybe not. But yikes on this stuff.... I'd have to know a heck of a lot more before I'd use it.

 

[gizmo]

It would be nice if there was a website where farmers and or ranchers could post their willingness to have hunters come to their property and remove a large number of hogs. Almost all of the land in Texas is owned by someone. There is very little if any State or Federal land where hunters can go for free. The ranchers and farmers lease the hunting rights for their property to individuals or groups. Most of the lease owners are deer hunters, hence the excess number of hogs. I've been on several hog hunts in Texas. My cost per pound for feral hogs was more than I'd have to pay a butcher for farm raised pigs. No wonder they have a problem.

I understand your point but the same could be said for any animal. If it's meat your after it's much cheaper to buy quail, venison, elk, bison, etc at the store than to go hunt for them. Point being most people don't hunt for substance anymore. It's about heritage and the experience.
The reason most farmers won't let people just come hunt is two fold. 1. They lease the hunting rights out and would be out that income 2. Public who have no skin in the game tend to trash people's property and not treat it with the respect needed.
It's no different than deer. People in Texas bitch about deer over population all the time. They complain to biologists etc.... the solution is for the state to come kill the deer and they do with the land owners permission. In reality that rarely happens because when the state does that they kill all of them. Does and those trophy bucks. "Well now wait a minute" the land owners say. " I like to hunt those bucks" etc.... now all the sudden it's not such a great idea. Fact is people like to bitch, farmers and ranchers especially, I am one. I just have enough sense to see the bigger picture. It all boils down to be careful what you wish for because you might just get it.

 

[Brent in Az]

Are those Feral hogs good eating?

 

[gizmo]

Are those Feral hogs good eating?

Under 100lbs they're pretty good. A lot depends on what they've been eating. Where I'm at they are really pretty good, though I rarely eat many anymore (kinda a story behind that), because of what I feed them.

 

[charleslabounty]

Sounds like a government experiment with all kinds of "unintended consequences" waiting to happen.

 

[gizmo]

Sounds like a government experiment with all kinds of "unintended consequences" waiting to happen.

You are exactly right. Kinda like the genius who thought bringing salt cedars in for erosion control was a greaaaaat idea. I'd still like to kick that asshole in the bean bag.

 

[Brent in Az]

You are exactly right. Kinda like the genius who thought bringing salt cedars in for erosion control was a greaaaaat idea. I'd still like to kick that asshole in the bean bag.

Who knows.? Maybe it's the same person who wants to poison the pigs. You can kick him twice!

 

[Ragman]

All I know is that I hunted hogs in Texas for the first time last year and it was big time fun. I plan on going back to do it again.

 

[gizmo]

Who knows.? Maybe it's the same person who wants to poison the pigs. You can kick him twice!

Well considering that was in the 1890's the fella would hafta be pretty old.

 

[Brent in Az]

Well considering that was in the 1890's the fella would hafta be pretty old.

Haha. i didn't even know that. That dude is dust by now.