Wayd Jansen

Wanted Dead, Not Alive

            Women attacked while jogging on a hiking trail, utility vehicle attacked and flipped paralyzing one man, (Feral Hogs - Threat to People, Agriculture and Missouri's Natural Resources.  ), plus an endless list of property damage. At this point your mind is probably racing, “Is it a bobcat? Couldn’t be they are too small to flip a utility vehicle. Is it a mountain lion? No couldn’t be. It must be a bear right?” The menacing animal with this long criminal record is none other than a feral hog.

            The privies listed offences are all done by an animal that has been taking a larger and larger foothold in the place that we call home. At this point, the Missouri Conservation Department is listing over twenty counties in Missouri as being infected by feral hogs. The habitat destruction and competition against native species puts this invasive animal at the top of the Conservations hit list, but could we turn them into a blessing.

          Feral hogs are the only animal that I can recall that the conservation department has written, “Shoot on sight,” next to its picture. I understand that feral hogs are not a native species to Missouri and I have read long list of attacks and reports of property damage by people from different states yet, I still have a hard time with this call to arms.

There are always problem animals of any species. Mountain lions reported as attaching people on trails and, bears entering camp sites or homes but, there’s never the call to eradicate a whole species. Now don’t get me wrong I love hunting, and if you’re telling me it’s open season everyday of the year, my gun is not going to be anywhere but by my side. Can this be considered, “good conservation” though and what is the reasoning behind it?

One of the biggest things I see is that feral hogs pose a threat to two of, if not the most important trophy animals in the state, turkey and deer. According to the Missouri Conservation Department and University of Missouri Extention, “Feral hogs will eat anything they can catch including reptiles, amphibians, fawns and bird eggs. Besides the direct mortality, hogs compete with native wildlife for food items. They consume roots, berries, fruits, acorns and other nuts with such efficiency that native species may be left short. A large population of feral hogs distributed widely throughout the Ozarks where turkey reproduction and survival depends heavily on the nut crop, would do serious damage to Missouri's turkey flock.” My question is, “Is the eradication of one nonnative species considered a good thing, so as that we preserve the ever climbing population of our trophy species. “

Most people would likely say they agree with the conservations take on things.  As for me I see another animal to capitalize on. Many folks love to hog hunt, and people will often book guided trips to states like Texas that hold trophy sized hogs.  So why are we not regulating hog hunting, and making hunters purchase tags that funnel more money into our conservation agencies? This to me is a missed opportunity for our states.

Another thing that bugs me is at one point in the history of our state we have almost hunted both the deer and turkey into extinction before we realized we had to regulate seasons and tags. After this was discovered there was the extensive management process to try and bring these species back to the state. This is a situation we could prevent with proper conservation procedures taken sooner rather than later. Then, instead of having  to work on rebuild a population, we could start with the enjoyment of managing or healthy population.

As for me, I love to hunt and I’m working on a degree in Conservation Wildlife. I see a big error in our ways right now and I’m hoping to possibly shed light on a situation before we realize what we might be miss out on it.  

         

           

Work Cited

Feral Hogs - Threat to People, Agriculture and Missouri's Natural Resources. MDC, 2010. google.com. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. <http://mdc.mo.gov/landwater-care/animal-management/invasive-animal-management/feral-hogs/feral-hogs-threat-people-agri>.

Moore, Chester. Wild Hog Attachs Rare but Scary. Port Arthur The News Connecting Communties, 8 June 2008. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. <http://panews.com/outdoors/x681446177/Wild-hog-attacks-rare-but-scary

Pierce, Robert A., and Rex Martensen. Feral Hogs in Missouri: Damage Prevention and Control. UME, Dec. 2009. Google.com. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. <http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G9457#Damage>.