In what seems to be a classic case of trying to close the door after the horse is out of the barn, Texas’ Agricultural Commission declared October 2009 “Hog Out Month – Get the Hog Outta Texas!”  The declaration was a sort of kickoff to a campaign to eradicate the destructive pests.

Fed up with widespread damage to crops, wildlife habitat, public parks, golf courses, and the yards of homeowners, the Commission is urging Texans to step up their efforts to hunt down or trap the invasive species.  Biologists estimate there are about 2 million wild hog that cause $400 million in damages annually in the Lone Star State.

 During the “Get the Hog Outta Texas” month, the county that documented the most hogs killed received a $25,000 grant for “feral hog abatement technologies.”

In much of Texas, hog damage is very easy to spot.  Deep rooting occurs where-ever there are grubs, a favorite food of wild hogs.  This occurs year-round, but is often most intense on lawns, golf courses and other irrigated areas during droughts.  Some rooting in crop fields is so deep that the holes can lead to equipment damage and even injuries to operators.  Texas’ hogs also wreck fences, directly prey on livestock and wildlife, and damage forests.

In addition to these obvious problems, wild hogs adversely affect the environment in subtle ways.  Wild hogs carry numerous parasites and disease that threaten humans, livestock and wildlife.  Humans can be infected with brucellosis (one fatal case in Texas in the last two years), leptospirosis, salmonellosis, toxoplasmosis, sarcoptic mange, E. coli, and trichinosis (hookworm).  Livestock can get pseudorabies, swine brucellosis, tuberculosis, vesicular stomatis, and classical swine flu.    

In Hawaii, researchers discovered that wallowing by wild hogs created pools that were subsequently used by certain mosquitoes that carry avian pox.  This has adversely affected several endangered bird species in Volcano National Park and other unique areas.  Wild hog activity in streams in Hawaii, Louisiana and several other states has even caused fecal coliform bacteria levels to exceed human health standards.

Given the incredibly wide-ranging and serious nature of wild hog impacts, it is no wonder that Texans want to eradicate the invasive animals.  But it is very unlikely they can succeed.  There are more wild hogs in Texas than in any other state, and no eradication program has been successful anywhere in the U.S. once hogs have become firmly established.

That’s why the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy is putting forth a major effort to get hogs out of Michigan—before it’s too late for our state.  The Conservancy’s Michigan Wild Hog Removal Program, urging and training citizens to shoot and trap wild hogs, is racing against time.  We don’t’ want Michigan to end up like Texas.  For more information about the effort visit www.miwildlife.org.

[Return to Newsletter Index]