‘Pig Bomb’ invasion spurs on hunters to massacre wild hogs in bid to wipe out ‘killer beasts’
A "PIG Bomb" invasion has spurred on hunters to massacre wild hogs in a bid to wipe out the "killer beasts."
Two hunters fatally shot a total of seven hogs on The Preserve, previously named Cypress Lakes, in southern Texas on Saturday.
Joel Dudley, owner of Nuisance Wildlife Removal, said: “We were in there doing hog eradication because they have become so overpopulated.
“They have been tearing up the whole dang subdivision.”
He shot the wild boars with his friend, Mike Huckabay, according to BlueBonnet News.
The heaviest hog they killed was a feral hog weighing at 488lbs.
The six others weight around 250lbs each.
He said the massive-sized hog was the largest he's ever encountered.
Joel, who has been hunting hugs for more than 15 years, told BlueBonnet News: "We saw this big boar standing around one of the ponds. Even at the distance, we could tell he was massive.
"We went toward him and couldn't find him, so we got back on the ATV and went down another road.
"That's when Mike got within 20 yards of him and shot him. There was another big one that I was watching with my thermal scope.
"He got within 10 yards of me. I had to shoot him because, he was coming right at me."
All the hogs were found congregating near a community pond.
Nighttime vision scopes and thermal-imaging helped the pair find the wild animals in the dark - as that's when the hogs are most active.
Joel told BlueBonnet News: "I think the thermal vision makes it a lot safer because, we can get within 5-10 yards of the feral hogs.
"It works in subdivisions and places like that. Sometimes, the last thing you want to do is try trapping hogs in your community.
"You don't want to put bait out and draw more pigs to what is already a nuisance area. That's why we go in with thermal scopes."
Low-caliber ammunition was used because it "just drops them where they are standing," Joel said.
Feral hogs have become a nuisance in southern Texas.
There is currently an estimated population of more than 1.5 million feral hogs in Texas, according to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.
The department said growing hog population and distribution "is due in part to intentional releases, improved habitat, and increased wildlife management.
Other factors are "improved animal husbandry such as disease eradication, limited natural predators, and high reproductive potential."
In November last year, a 59-year-old woman, Christine Rollins, was killed by a herd of the beasts outside a Texas home where she worked as a caretaker for an older couple.
Attacks from wild hogs are pretty rare with only four feral-hog related deaths happening since 1800, according to Wildlife Damage Management.
People are generally only attacked when boars are cornered, threatened, or wounded and they would rather run away than fight a human.
Although they aren't prone to aggression, experts advise people exercise extreme caution if they come in to contact with a wild bog, especially if it's injured.
These not-so-little piggies were first introduced to Texas about 300 years ago when pigs owned by Spanish settlers bred with wild boar.
Although they were initially confined to the southeast, California and Hawaii, feral pigs can now be found in around 37 states and four Canadian provinces.
These animals can weigh up to 400 pounds and have been breeding like rabbits, with their population exceeding five million in the US.
Zoologist Jack Mayer claimed the only thing that can stop the "pig bomb" would be an epidemic of SWINE FLU.
Wild Hogs can also pose a threat to US agriculture.
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The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service explains: "From an agriculture standpoint, cropland damage results in higher economic impact than rangelands or pasturelands.
"More recently, damage to greenscapes in urban and suburban settings have resulted in considerable economic impacts as well."
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