Hockey makes a crucial point. As more and more landowners learn how much money can be made by charging hunters to kill hogs, there will be less opportunity for the budget-challenged hunter to participate in any sort of management effort. It's also true that if a landowner finds that hunters will pay enough money, he'll often start managing the hunts to ensure a constant supply of animals. This is happening all over California, and it's becoming a pretty big thing in Texas too. As a result, the whole idea of using hunters to reduce or eliminate hogs from the habitat becomes irrelevant, because now it's business.

When Colorado first discovered populations of feral hogs, they passed a law prohibiting landowners from charging hunters to kill the swine. This discouraged practices like CA, and also cut down the incentive for other hunters and landowners to transport and release wild hogs on their properties. I think this was a pretty smart move (despite recent, unrelated CO government actions to the contrary).

The fact of the matter is that the majority of the "pig bomb" phenomenon can be directly traced to hunters' transplanting hogs (both feral and eurasian) onto unfenced properties in hopes of enhancing hunting opportunities. Sometimes this was done in ignorance of the fact that the hogs are prolific breeders and travel great distances from their home territory. Other times it was done without regard for that eventuality. I'll add that, in most states, this transport wasn't illegal... and in some states it's still not against the law.

The only way to get this under control is to allow unlimited shooting, trapping, and other removal approaches. Transportation and relocation should be illegal in all states, with the exception of transport to approved and regulated facilities (as is the case in Texas). Landowners should not be allowed to gain financially from populations of feral hogs on their properties, and if they don't want public hunters, they can spring for professionals or do it themselves. There is some promising research into targeted poisoning that, if successful, should make big inroads into killing hogs that would be otherwise inaccessible to other methods.

As far as the hogs in Europe and Britain, that's a very different story as those animals are native to the area. Their problems are more similar to the US issues with whitetail deer overpopulation.

They are already a problem in Alberta and Saskatchewan. I applaud Michigan's approach as opposed to California's requirement for expensive tags and regular seasons.

Shooting one or two at a time doesn't seem to be helping much here in Texas. Even cities within the Dallas/Ft Worth metro area have formally requested help in eradicating the critters within the city limits (humanely, if I might add). Trapping an entire sounder is key to slow procreation in a particular area. Wireless (cellular traps at wirelesstraps.com) have captured up to 30+ at one time here in Texas. If it helps you hunters out there. One trapper noticed heightened Winter/Spring activity 2 nights before and 2 nights after a full moon, but never on a full moonlit night. Cameras, wireless and remote triggers (and patience) to capture more than one is definitely helping landowners here in TX.

max there is actually a belief that many pigs are becoming ether more "wild" or have actually had russian and other norther asian strain breed into north american pigs. this is pretty obvious when you look at wild pigs from 20-30 years ago and modern pigs. Modern pigs tend to have longer legs, a higher shoulder, longer tusks and other similarities to eurasian boars. We are also seeing feral hog with gristle plates or roughly 1.5 in thick armor made out of tough fat that was designed to protect the vitals when boars fight with their tusks. this plate has not been seen in modern pigs for hundreds of years but is starting to become more common among feral hogs. this is why I feel that our feral's have some russian running through there blood. meaning over time they could enter colder and tougher lands. Heck they are already in upstate New York and the deserts here in arizona. they can live just about any where. For years people said that they could never live in the deserts of arizona but there are small pockets living here in agricultural areas just north of Tucson and on the arizona strip.

California has a plan,the pigs can not be blamed for the overpopulation of swine in the state, since the legislature is swine run, they are future UN-documented workers, they must be protected! after they have taxed all of the citizens to death, they will start taxing the animals.

A few in southern Colorado at lower altitudes too, although the map does not show it.

I feel like the article is a tad bid misleading about Michigan's attitude toward's them. When I talked to the DNR they made it clear to me they see it as an opportunistic take. If you see a feral hog, and you have a valid hunting license or ccw, great kill it! However, they didn't want people actively pursuing them because they didn't want the confusion if people are after these hogs or poaching. I found the best solution was MI's coyote season is basically year round. I have started hunting coyotes with my .300 win mag.

Hi...

Yup, we've even had them here in NY for the past few years, and they're increasing rapidly.

I am doubting the accuracy of that map. They are all over Oklahoma. In my opinion there is nothing good about having them. They are nocturnal most of the time so hunting them is at best difficult and can't be relied upon to control their numbers. They destroy any habitat you try and create and will not leave an acorn for the bucks to rebuild with after the rut. They eat anything edible including fawns, nesting birds and the young of anything else they can catch. You don't have to have a license here in OK to shoot them on private land, there is no season or limits as well. Me, I hate em.