Feral Hogs a Dangerous Problem Unlikely to Go Away
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
They are as invasive as Kudzu, and have no natural predators, and unlike the creeping vine don’t die at the first frost (or any cold weather).
They cost South Carolina farmers More than $110 million annually, and exist in every county in the state. And there are between 250,000-500,000 of them in the state.
Feral hogs continue to be more than a nuisance, they are a danger not only to farmers and other landowners, but to other animals and humans as well. They are aggressive, have a very high reproductive rate, will eat almost anything and can be difficult to trap.
Whether called feral hogs, wild pigs, feral swine or razorbacks, most agree they arrived in the United States when Spanish settlers shipped them here as a meat source. In the years since, their herds expanded, first along the coasts and then inland, mixing with escaped domestic pigs and cross-breeding into huge animals with razor tusks and bristles. They also retain a fierce aggressive streak.
These animals can now be found almost anywhere, from backyards to golf courses to farms, and have a survival instinct that has earned them the title “the mammalian cockroach.” Oh, and they also transmit diseases.
Controlling them is also a challenge. Most fencing cannot hold them, although there is hope of some new forms of fences. Trapping and shooting cannot be done on a large enough level to eradicate them.
“It’s too late to hope to wipe them out in South Carolina,” said Donny Ray, U.S. Forest Service, Sumter National Forest, who is one of the few in the Upstate talking the problem head on. Ray was part of a presentation on the problem of feral hogs at the Anderson County Museum.
“We try to control areas where we can, but eradication is not possible as far as I can see,” said Ray. He works with the state and private landowners to trap the feral hogs using traps and other methods.
The spread of the animal continues to be expedited by hunters who transport the animals for sport from county to county. Sting operations have caught many of these hunters and initiatives continue. Some evidence suggest private hunt clubs which bred the hogs and later shut down, released large numbers of the animals in the state accelerating their growth.
The feral hogs can also be a road hazard. Ray compared hitting one of the 200-pound-plus hogs on the highway to hitting a large rock. They are also aggressive to humans and other animals, creating serious issues for those who might encounter the hogs will walking a dog.
There is an international search for solutions to the problem. The clever animals avoid many of the attempts to poison their food, and such baits are illegal in the United States.
So that leaves controlling the populations the only option for now. Ray talked about the problem recently at an event at the Anderson County Museum.