Wild boars are one of America’s most notorious pests, and they’re particularly a huge problem in Texas. So much so that in Texas you can literally book a helicopter seat to go hunt these things from the air… just mowing them down from the skies with a fully-automatic rifle. It’s pretty wild…
Of course, that might sound insane to some, but with the way they can wreak havoc everywhere they roam, it’s hardly enough to stop these pesky beasts. Found primarily across the south, with some populations stretching into New Mexico, Arizona and California, as well as north towards Michigan and upstate New York, feral hogs are responsible for billions of dollars in damage every single year. And the range is only getting larger (now found in 35 states) as they migrate further and further north and west. And if that wasn’t enough, scientists have discovered a bigger and smarter breed of “super pigs” in Canada (feral hogs who breed with domestic hogs) and are expected to migrate south into Montana, Minnesota and the Dakotas.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture:
“Feral hogs cause more than $1.5 billion in damages to property, agricultural interests (crops and livestock), native wildlife and ecosystems as well as cultural and historic resources.”
There’s somewhere between 2 million and 4 million wild hogs in the state of Texas (perhaps 9 million estimated in the entire country). And because they have no breeding season, they reproduce at an astronomical rate. They can begin to breed around 5-6 months old, the gestation period is less than 4 months, and they can have anywhere from 2-12 piglets per litter.
Just do some quick math and you realize that it’s possible for a pig to have a few dozen piglets each year, who can begin to breed themselves before the year is over. It’s nuts. And it’s not just your garden, your field, and the environment, these things will mess you up too. A wild hog can harm you, harm your dog, your young kids, your livestock… they just damage whatever they come across.
It’s open season on wild hogs across the country, but even so, all the hunting in the world hasn’t been enough to stop the rise. Feral hogs are a popular game meat among hunters, usually a bit more “gamey” and leaner compared to the domesticated pork you buy at the store, but it can actually quite delicious when prepared properly. Like all animals, flavor is relative to a number of factors like age, size, diet, etc… but overall, younger, smaller sows (females) are pretty damn good and big, mature, uncastrated males (boars) are generally pretty awful. Long and complicated story short… tow compounds called androstenone and skatole accumulate in the fat, and they can give male boars this kind of “pissy” “sweaty” taste/smell that is known as “boar taint.” It’s pretty gross, but one of the ways to significantly reduce the amount of androstenone and skatole is to castrate the boar. Called “barring” (a castrated pig is a barrow), the relatively quick and painless procedure (when done properly and usually to a young male) also has the added benefit of stopping them from reproducing. They also grow faster which is why nearly all domesticated pigs are castrated.
Enter this fella right here….
While it’s not entirely clear, my first thought was that this guy is filmed in the process of barring a wild boar. But upon closer inspection, it seems like he may be freeing it from a snare. I’m not gonna delete everything I just wrote about castrating pigs so… the more you know, I guess. Either way, once he’s finished, he gives the hog a big ol’ SLAP on the backside and quickly learned that it was a huge mistake. And well, the rest is downright hilarious.
Lesson learned:
