Florida plans feral hog hunts

By: Lloyd Sowers, FOX 13 News

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TAMPA (FOX 13) -

They came with Spanish explorers centuries ago, and now they're one of the most destructive nuisance animals out there: Wild hogs destroy the land and push out native wildlife.

There are an estimated one million of them in Florida alone.
"They can have three litters in a 14-month period, with six to eight per litter," explained Will Vangelder, land management supervisor for the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD). "A wild hog is thinking of two things. One is food and the other is reproduction."
Vangelder says the hogs damage flood control structures and water recharge areas. They also attack lawns and parks in subdivisions near the woods.
SWFWMD is holding a series of hunts this fall on district land to try and reduce the population.
"For the taxpayer dollars that we spend, it is the greatest opportunity to reduce the hog population," said Vangelder.
He expects many hunters to register beginning October 7.

Read more: http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/23581406/2013/10/01/state-plans-feral-hog-hunts#ixzz2gbEIPzzS

Pigs decimate western Queensland lamb populations









Four large feral pigs caught on a local Clifton grain property in February.
Linda Mantova

Chris Calcino

Sunshine Coast Daily

October 2, 2013

FERAL pigs are wreaking havoc on western Queensland as dry conditions force the thriving populations closer to farms.
Craig Alison from South West Natural Resource Management said sheep and wool producers were some of the hardest-hit, with ravenous swine eating lambs.
"The feral pig predation has been extreme on land managers, especially those in the sheep and wool industry," he said.
"In some case lambing percentages at weaning time or earmarking time has been as low as 20 per cent.
"That means if you had a 1000 ewes lambing, you would expect 800 or so lambs but in reality only 200 lambs have come in when mustering.
"Feral pigs are also creating havoc on water points and troughs by fouling the water, preventing stock and native animals from access and wallowing in the immediate area to troughs, making it very deep and boggy.
"Domestic stock are getting bogged and then become easy prey for the feral pigs."
Back Plains recreational shooter Brandan Wassell said the Darling Downs was rife with booming pig populations.
This weekend he will head to a property in Moonie to cull as many as he can.
"My record is 56 for a week, and I'd expect to get around that number out at Moonie," he said.
"Around Toowoomba, the worst places at the moment are probably Hodgsonvale, Murphys Creek and Flagstone Creek.
"If there's grain, they're there - but it's not just grain.
"They're turning over all the grass and eating the goats and lambs.
"Pigs will take whatever food they can get."

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/feral-pigs-are-wreaking-havoc-on-western-queenslan/2037508/

Phuket wild boars ravage football-golf greens

Wild boars grubbing in the green are causing football-golf players to ask for mulligans. Photo: Neil Simmons

Phuket Gazette
Thailand


PHUKET: A sounder of wild boar has settled on an 18-hole “Football Golf Course” in Chalong as their preferred dining area, but in the pigs’ quest for food, the squealers have left disturbingly large divots in the greens.

“Our course is currently under attack by wild boars, which are rampaging through our course at night and ripping up our greens,” said Neil Simmons of Phuket Games Zone, located in Soi Palai (map here).

Phuket Games Zone has been unable to catch the wily porkers. Photo: Neil Simmons

“You hardly ever see them. They come and go, and the attacks always happen at night,” he said.
The sounder was first spotted about six months ago, and have since ripped large holes in the greens at holes 7, 8 and 10.
Attempts to snare the dark-brown pigs have been fruitless.
“They’re just too clever,” Mr Simmons said.
“We borrowed a wooden-cage pig trap from a pig-farmer neighbor, but they just didn’t take the bait. I also set down some rope snares, but they avoided them too,” he explained.
Last week, the pig farmer’s dogs bailed up a baby pig, but some of the larger specimens seen roaming around the course have been estimated to weigh 60 to 70kg.
Players are asked to notify course management if they spot any of the porkers.
In the meantime, play on the course continues.
“The damage in the rough areas hasn’t been that bad, but we have had to work hard to smooth out the damage done to the greens,” Mr Simmons said.
The damaged greens have been sufficiently smoothed over and no mulligans will be offered for shots that players claim were affected by an uneven surface, he added.

http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Phuket-wild-boars-ravage-football-golf-greens-22383.html

Wild animal disturbs East Point residents

By Deidra Dukes, FOX 5 reporter
Fox Atlanta, US

The animal some US residents thought was a coyote...

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EAST POINT, Ga. -

Neighbors are concerned about a wild animal in East Point. Residents think the animal is a coyote, but a local trapper told FOX 5 that he believes it's a dog.
Latrice Parrish called police to her house on Charles Drive Road on Monday after she saw the animal in her driveway as her son headed out the door to catch the school bus.
"The officer came and looked at everything and said he heard it and if it happens again, if I see it, call them back . And he escorted me and my son to the car just in case it came back out," Parrish said.
Neighbor Ian Manning has also spotted the animal near his home. He said he doesn't feel threatened, but does believe that it could hurt a child.
Parrish's mother, Rosetta, is convinced the animal is dangerous after a frightening encounter last week.
"I was coming out of the house, going to the car and I happen to look up and it charged -- came straight at me, you know…so I ran back into the house," Rosetta Parrish said. 
 After placing several phone calls to various local and state agencies, a Georgia Department of Natural Resources spokesman referred Parrish to a private trapper, but she said that she feels the city should pay for the costs of trapping the animal.
Animal control officials said late Monday afternoon that they would attempt to set a trap for the animal.

 

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/23571277/wild-animal-disturbs-east-point-residents

Wounded warriors take aim at feral hogs during hunt

Retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Dana Bowman, president and founder of the HALO for Freedom Warrior Foundation, talks to a group of veterans preparing to take part in a helicopter hog hunt Friday in Hamilton. Bowman was a Special Forces soldier and member of the elite parachute team, the Golden Knights, before losing both his legs in a training accident in 1994.

Tim Orwig
Killeen Daily Herald

HAMILTON — A steady drizzle couldn’t stop an intrepid group of wounded warriors from taking to the air Friday to shoot wild hogs from helicopters.

About 25 wounded veterans took part in a series of events hosted by the HALO for Freedom Warrior Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports veterans challenged by rehabilitation, reintegration and healing.In addition to aerial hog hunting in Hamilton, the veterans will take part in bow fishing and golf this weekend, weather permitting.

Walter Browning of Weatherford, who spent 15 years in the 1st Cavalry Division, waits for the helicopter to lift off for some hog hunting Friday in Hamilton. The HALO for Freedom Warrior Foundation invited about 25 veterans from around the country to the hunt and other events aimed at rehabilitation and transition to civilian life.

 Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry, an Army Ranger who received the Medal of Honor for his bravery in Afghanistan in May 2008, waited out the rain with other wounded warriors in the hangar at the Hamilton airport, about 60 miles northwest of Killeen.
Wearing a big smile, Petry has a firm handshake despite having lost his right hand to a grenade that he grabbed in order to save members of his Ranger squad.
“Great,” is how Petry described the weekend events. “This is awesome. Look at the smiles on the faces of these men. The sense of community and the support is humbling.”
Shooting hogs and an occasional coyote from a helicopter with rifles and shotguns provided by the foundation is also “therapeutic,” Petry said.

Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry, a Medal of Honor recipient for his actions in Afghanistan on May 26, 2008, was among the wounded warriors at the HALO for Freedom Warrior Foundation hog hunt Friday in Hamilton.

Retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Dana Bowman, president and founder of the HALO for Freedom Warrior Foundation, moved from hangar to tarmac to chopper giving directions and talking with wounded warriors.
Bowman was a Special Forces soldier and member of the Golden Knights elite parachute team before losing both his legs in a training accident in 1994.
“Having fun, having an experience with our brother group” is the purpose of the weekend, Bowman said.
Bowman said 117 area ranchers are taking part in the hog hunt to help wounded warriors and get rid of some varmints.
“We’ve killed some hogs and coyotes,” Bowman said. “We’re coming back in March.”

http://kdhnews.com/news/wounded-warriors-take-aim-at-feral-hogs-during-hunt/article_a6f4d708-227d-11e3-8506-001a4bcf6878.html