Great Smoky Mountains National Park battling infestation of hogs

WRAL ^ | January 24, 2010

[riri]

With the unemployment numbers coming out of that region this may be a good thing. Southerners may need to use them for food if things keep up.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

"Texas has! Big business down here..."

Well, Texas is different and having lived there for a couple of decades, I know this with certainty.

I am impressed that Louisiana is trying to get out in front of this problem. Our local NWR had a printed handout at headquarters this past deer season that encouraged anyone on the NWR to kill every hog that they saw ... no season, no limit (although there are rules about when you can be in possession of a weapon, so I guess there is a season of sorts).

When Gustav hit back in 2008, some wild hogs escaped from an exotic ranch and we were able to harvest 3 of them when they showed up on our property. That is some fine eatin', and will spoil you to pork from the grocery store.

[DNME]

The enviro-whackos won’t enjoy hearing this (or maybe they will — even worse) but we humans do play an important role in the natural order of things.

When humans settle an area, they tend to wipe out the big predators — bears, wolves, big cats. (The greedy bastards want their children to grow up without being eaten!)

But in order to enjoy that peace of mind, constant hunting is REQUIRED, for two very good reasons.

First, the hunters kill the big predators.

Second, they limit the FOOD SUPPLY for the big predators. And there’s the rub!

Hunters are now fading away — who could hurt those adorable animals on Disney and the Discovery Channel? — and we are going to pay for it.

We no longer have predators big enough to feed on wild hogs (and beavers, moose, etc.). But we will. They will return. There’s too much food going to waste in the woods.

Somehow, I don’t think the grizzly bears will be wearing little vests and hats when they return. Nope, probably not ...