Exploring the Ozarks Outdoors: freshare.net

Hogs Gone Wild

By University of Arkansas

First posted on 08-12-2010

By William Hehemann , For the U of A Division of Agriculture

Arkansas landowners complain about damage wrought by feral hogs - swine gone wild - but aside from anecdotal evidence, there’s no current information on exactly where, and how many, wild hogs are living in Arkansas.

Jaret Rushing, a Calhoun County extension agent for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, is preparing to launch a study to learn more about these animals, and whether their presence carries any benefit.

The last solid information on Arkansas feral hog populations was given by the state Livestock and Poultry Commission in 1999 at the first National Feral Swine Conference.

“At the time of the conference, it was estimated that 50 to 55 of Arkansas’ 75 counties were infested with feral hogs,” Rushing said. Considering that the statement was made over a decade ago, Rushing is confident there is a lot of studying to be done.

“From crop damage to land alterations, there’s absolutely no way to estimate an exact dollar amount of what these hogs are costing,” he said. “In Arkansas, there has been a lack of research altogether.”

Co-authors on Rushing’s studies are the members of his thesis advisory committee: Alexandra Felix-Locher, assistant professor of spatial information systems and wildlife at the University of Arkansas-Monticello; Sayeed Mehmood, associate professor of forest economics and policy at UAM; and Becky McPeake, a professor and extension wildlife specialist for the U of A Division of Agriculture.

Rushing’s primary objective “is to analyze and map the presence or absence of feral swine on a county-by-county basis.”

Rushing is going to release a pilot survey in August. In September, a phone survey is intended to reach about 1,500 people.

“These are landowners who have wildlife management in their best interest. They would most likely be able to give us a more accurate measure of damages per acre,” Rushing said.

“We will try to have at least one contact per county … and an equal distribution of surveys across Arkansas’ physiographic regions,” Rushing said.

“My second objective is to create a cost/benefit analysis of the situation,” Rushing said. “To analyze what stakeholders see as positive or negative.

“If someone has sustained damage on his or her land, I want them to give me monetary estimates,” he said.

On the contrary, if a landowner leases land out for hog hunting, Rushing will record the potential amount of profit. By March 2011, Rushing wants to have completed a concise cost/benefit analysis on the presence of feral hogs.

Rushing also wants to amass any possible hog management strategies people might suggest and then present them to the governing bodies such as the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Rushing said one of his contacts asked him why there is no bounty on hogs like there is on beavers. A $10-per-head bounty might be one of many suggested solutions in solving a feral hog problem.

Even if the exact numbers aren’t known, feral hogs have been successful in maintaining - and increasing - their population.

“A mature female, 8- to 10-months-old, can produce an average litter of four to eight piglets about two times a year,” he said. “By the time the sow has her second litter, her first litter has already reached maturity and can start having litters themselves … extremely rapid reproduction.”

For all the complaints, feral hogs may offer potential profit for some.

“I know of hunters who have paid to come in on private lands where the presence of hogs was confirmed,” said Rushing. “They brought their hog dogs to catch and kill.”

Rushing seen the parasitic effects of the wild hog a time or two on his property. At one of his deer feeders, a group of eight hogs consumed 50 pounds of corn in a night. In mid-June, Rushing’s deer stand camera captured a picture of a 300-pound sow eating and lying in a pile of rice bran.

Rushing said the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission deemed the hunting of feral pigs on private land acceptable at any time by means of any weapon. However, on public lands, hunters must only use the weapon currently in season. Rushing said such a restriction might confuse hunters who have been encouraged to kill the pesky animal.

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Comments:

I live in Marion Co.,&haven;’t seen any sign of them yet.I know how much DAMAGE they can cause-I’ve seen it in Texas&Ca;.I sure hope they stay away from my property!

By Retta Mitzenmacher on August 18, 2010 - 6:21 am