Hogs Take over Texas

[J E Custom]

A lot of long time Texas hunters have been Trying to get
everyones attention about the wild hog problem in texas
and in the nation.

Some ranches have even stocked them against the warnings
of large hunting clubs of what would happen.

Well at least someone is listening.

Today the Texas Department of Agriculture announced that it has
awarded the Texas AgriLife Extension Service $1 Million dollars to
work towards cutting down the number of hogs- estimated to be
about 2 million,(half of the total nationwide).

The hogs will be trapped,snared and hunted, agriculture department
spokesman Bryan Black said, Those trapped or snared will be
euthanized .

Hogs can balloon up to 400 pounds and can shred fields and pastures
and wreck ecosystems by wallowing in streambeds.They also kill and eat
any animals they can catch including deer,sheep,goats,cattle,turkeys,
quail and more.

The really big hogs can be a hazard to people when they loose there
fear of man.

As a hunter I hate to see the hogs wasted but they have to be controlled
and hogs have no natural predators except Man.

So everyone needs to hunt them with more dedication to management of the
resource.

I Just Wanted To Pass This Along
J E CUSTOM

 

[HRstretch]

Good post JE.

I hope they don't go off half cocked and do some kind of mass sterilization project. I can just see that backfiring and sterilizing all of the other wildlife as well as domestic livestock that would be exposed.

 

[littletoes]

Wish I could get down there and shoot a couple meself!

 

[Longshot38]

Good to see Texas taking some steps to help reduce the hog population. The hogs around here really don't fear man much. While I was out scouting today I ran up on these (this picture was taken at only about 20 yards):

These will be bacon soon

 

[jwp475]

What, No shot Fired?

 

[dwm]

Is that a National Forest gate?

There is a hunting season for wild hogs in some of the National Forests in Texas ...

 

[Longshot38]

jwp475, sorry no shots fired. I was out doing some scouting and didn't have my rifle with me.

dwm it is a national forest gate. I was bumming around in Sam Houston, nearly the entire forest is WMA property thus it is open season on hog. I've been out a couple of times since and haven't been able to find them.

 

[dwm]

The gate kinda looks familiar.

I hunted Sam Houston for several years.

You are required to have an annual hunting permit in addition to the regular Texas hunting license and there was (is?) a season for hunting hogs in the Sam Houston National Forest. It basically ran from the beginning of bow season until March 15th.

I only mention this becauses I would hate to see someone get a ticket or whatever for hunting out of season on federal land.

I have ran into the game warden quite often when hunting there also.

We are now on a lease about 30 to 40 minutes east of there ...

 

[Longshot38]

The gate kinda looks familiar.

I hunted Sam Houston for several years.

You are required to have an annual hunting permit in addition to the regular Texas hunting license and there was (is?) a season for hunting hogs in the Sam Houston National Forest. It basically ran from the beginning of bow season until March 15th.

dwm can you point me in the direction of these regs? I looked extensively and what I found basically stated that once you purchased the APH permit you could hunt anything in season per state regs and seeing as TX has no season on hogs that leaves it open year round.

 

[dwm]

Did you get the book that came with the APH?

Normally the restrictions are printed on each map, so look up Sam Houston National Forest in the book and see what it says.

Here is an Acrobat file showing Sam Houston National Forest and the regulations:

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0112a_905.pdf

Page 2 of the .pdf file shows:

Feral Hog: [FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial](no bag limit). [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial MT,Arial][FONT=Arial MT,Arial]General Season: [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Sept. 29-Jan. 6, Jan. 12-20, and Feb. 1-Mar. 30. All legal means [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]allowed. Dogs may be used to hunt feral hogs during the Feb. 1-Mar. 30 period. [/FONT]
[/FONT]

 

[Longshot38]

Did you get the book that came with the APH?

Normally the restrictions are printed on each map, so look up Sam Houston National Forest in the book and see what it says.[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial][/FONT]
[/FONT]

Nope didn't get the book until today. It came in the mail. Thanks for the heads up. Oh well varmint and predator are still open year round.

 

[specweldtom]

Good job dwm.

Thanks, Tom

 

[Redheaded stepchild]

When my kid's pet was in season,the boars were thick.

She was very popular and the best attractant we had.

 

[700man]

I hope they can find a way to cut back on the number of hogs. On our lease in Brady, TX ,13 seasons ago we saw 2 hogs and thought it would be great to have their presance on the lease. The next year we saw 200, and the following year I killed close to 100, deer season alone.

They are terrible, they run off the deer, break down the fences, eat any thing you leave out.

Can not say enough bad about them.

I do not think that can slow them down, even if they kill or trap a few thousand, they will bounce right back.