The reason why I hate hogs, and want to kill em all. Besides the great taste.

[HogBiologist]

 Please take the time to thoroughly read the following information relating to feral swine

1. Agricultural TerrorismVia feeding, trampling and rooting:
-Row crops, hay, turf, rice, stock ponds, pastures, fences, feeders
-Secondary damage to farm vehicles
-Vineyards, orchards, oak tree regeneration
-Predation on lambs, newborn calves, and kids

2. Damage to Wildlife Resources
-Competition with deer and turkey populations
-Predation on fawns and ground-nesting fowl
-Riparian habitat degradation
-Enhanced erosion
-Contributing to S.E.C. woes (LOL)


3. Feral Swine as a Disease & Parasite Reservoir
-Feral swine can carry at least 30 virus & bacterial diseases that can infect livestock and humans.
-Feral swine can harbor a minimum of 37 parasites that affect humans, pets, wildlife, and livestock

A. Serves as a Reservoir for Many Human Diseases
Partial List:
-Influenza A (important in the conversion from the avian to human strain)
-Toxoplasma gondii
-Trichinella spiralis
-Leptospirosis
-Salmonellosis
-Rabies
-Francisella tularensis
-Streptococcus suis
-Brucella suis
-Many types of internal parasites and many other diseases

Brucellosis in Humans
"Undulant Fever" characteristic:
-Intermittent or irregular fever with variable duration
-Nonspecific and variable symptoms
-Headache, weakness, arthralgia, depression, weight loss, fatigue, liver dysfunction
-Any organ or system can be affected.
-Genitourinary involvement:
-Orchitis in up to 20% of men (swollen jewel sack)
-Rare cases of salpingitis, cervicitis and pelvic abscesses in women


Trichinosis
Trichinosis, caused by threadworms (Trichinella spiralis), occurs on all continents where people eat animal meat which may contain the thread worms. The animals which can harbor the parasites are:
pigs, wild boars, bears, dogs, cats and rats.


Toxoplasmosis
A disease caused by a microscopic protozoan, acquired by humans by
-Eating undercooked infected meat (lamb, pork)
-Food/water contaminated with cat feces
-Mother -to-child (in utero)
-Usually asymptomatic except in pregnant women and immunocompromised.

Feral Swine Hunter Safety
-Avoid eating, drinking or using tobacco when field-dressing or handling carcasses.
-Use latex or rubber gloves when handling the carcass or raw meat.
-Avoid direct contact with blood, reproductive organs and fecal matter.
-Wearing long sleeves, eye protection and covering any scratches, open wounds or lesions will help provide protection.
-Clean and disinfect knives, cleaning area, clothing and any other exposed surfaces when finished.
-Wash hands frequently with soap and water.
-Cook meat from these animals to 160º F or until juices run clear


B. Serves as a Reservoir for Many Livestock Regulatory Diseases and Potential Foreign Animal Diseases
Partial List:
-Brucella suis
-Pseudorabies Herpesvirus
-Anthrax
-Mycobacterium bovis (TB)
-Classical Swine Fever
-Swine Vesicular Disease
-Foot and Mouth Disease Virus
-African Swine Fever

C. Results of Feral Swine Surveillance In Louisiana
-Up to 10% have tested positive for pseudorabies
-Up to 5 % have tested positive for brucellosis

D. Other Diseases of concern
**Pseudorabies Virus **
-Alphaherpesvirus
-Genus: Varicellovirus
-Highly contagious
-Natural hosts are Domestic and feral swine
-Attenuated strain in feral swine
-Somewhat persistent in environment
-Several days in environment
-Aerosol (under favorable conditions)

Symptoms in Pigs
Weaned pigs
-Respiratory illness
-Neurological signs
-Recover in 5-10 days

Adult pigs
-Mild or inapparent infection
-Respiratory ± neurological signs

Pregnant sows:
-reproductive problems


Transmission from Feral Swine To Domestic Pigs
-Venereal from a feral boar to a sow
-Direct Contact
-Ingestion of abortion products
-Aerosol Can travel up to 1 mile
-Virus can live up to 7 hours

Pseudorabies in Other Animals
Cattle and sheep
-Intense pruritus
-Licking, rubbing, gnawing, self-mutilation
-Neurological signs

**Dogs and Cats**
-Similar to cattle and sheep
-Profuse salivation
-Resembles rabies
-Death in a few days

Side note - In cattle and sheep, Aujeszky's disease is almost always fatal within a few days. The first symptom is intense pruritus concentrated in a patch of skin; this is usually manifested as severe licking, rubbing, or gnawing. Self–mutilation is common. Affected animals become progressively weaker and, eventually, recumbent. Convulsions, bellowing, teeth grinding, cardiac irregularities, and rapid, shallow breathing are common. The clinical signs are similar in dogs and cats, and a combination of neurologic signs, pharyngeal paralysis, and profuse salivation may resemble rabies. Affected animals typically die within 1-2 days.

Brucella suis
A reproductive disease causing abortions transmitted from one pig to another by:
-Coming into contact with abortion products or newborn piglets from an infected sow
-Venereal transmission from the boar to the sow

The Risk of Feral Swing of Harboring Foreign Animal Diseases
Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD)
Classical Swine Fever (Hog Cholera, CSF)
-All cloven-hoofed livestock are susceptible

[Flydown]

All of those are good reasons to shoot them in the face and let them compost into fertilizer.

[Uncle Bucky]

Anytime you need help with whackin some let me know !

I'll bring my weapons and video camera and we can have some fun

[Turkey Trot]

Methinks I'd enjoy this.  But I'd want a balloon on a buoy to drop so we could collect all the loins and some of the whole hogs for a little feast.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGC1tjHCSVE

[WyoHunter]

They are one of the toughest critters! I love to hunt them!

[lightsoutcalls]

It isn't just for squirrel hunting anymore...

Our "squirrel season" starts this week.  That is a good excuse to break out the .22 mag and take a walk down the creek banks on the local WMA. We can only use firearms legal for what is in season, so this is my load of choice.  It's been a couple of years, but these "brought home the bacon" on a couple of trips in 2009.  There were a few more lost in some other piggies, but with well placed shots, they do the trick.

[longspur]

Methinks I'd enjoy this.  But I'd want a balloon on a buoy to drop so we could collect all the loins and some of the whole hogs for a little feast.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGC1tjHCSVE

them boys don't seem to have any respect for the game they hunt

[HogBiologist]

Eradicating feral pigs, by definition would be what most say is not having respect for pigs.  But due to the destructive nature of non native feral pigs, it is better to shoot everyone you see wether you find em or not.

[hoyt]

Leviticus 11:7-8

And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.

[HogBiologist]

That is old testament.  In the new testament God declared all food clean.

Acts 10:9-16 says, "About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.' 'Surely not, Lord!' Peter replied. 'I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.' The voice spoke to him a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.' This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to Heaven."

[stone road turkey calls]

Non native they must go, so if they were native they would be ok.

[wisconsinteacher]

As a boy from the north I am happy we do not have them, but I sure would love to hunt them.  If you are willing to put up with my wife and I, we would love to hunt them some day.

[mountman62]

gonna have to agree with LaBiologist on this one, i would be just a poor skinny boy when i was growing up if not for them wild hogs, it will put meat & fat on your bones, I AM LIVING PROOF, right La, they made me what i am today, makes me cringe every time i hear someone say they just shot em & let em lay

[Old Gobbler]

I cant stand them , we had a check station scientific survey of them with blood samples at a area here in Florida and near %50 had swine -Brucella suis{sp}  and/or Pseudorabies {sp} -

[surehuntsalot]

I feel a hog hunt coming on