Posted on 01/25/2011 10:26:29 PM PST by smokingfrog
Population control efforts are falling short; officials mull using helicopters.
Hoping to combat the destructive impact of feral hogs on the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge northwest of Austin, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering culling the hogs by shooting them from a helicopter.
For years the refuge staff has tried to keep hog populations down by trapping them or killing them in one of several late autumn hunts — but to little avail. Rooting aggressively for food and willing to wallow in anything that looks like a comforting depression of mud, the hogs have caused widespread damage to pastures, according to refuge manager Deborah Holle .
The refuge, formed in 1992 to protect habitat for two endangered songbirds, comprises about 23,000 acres in Burnet, Travis and Williamson counties. There is no evidence that the hogs disrupt the life of the songbirds, but they do wreak havoc on other wildlife in the refuge, Holle said, outcompeting them for food and destroying their habitat.
Under the Feral Hog Management Plan, approved in 2001, hunters can shoot the animals during the refuge's "Big Game Hunt." The federal agency is considering amending the plan to allow for aerial shooting, which it calls a "successful and accepted means of hog control" in a news release. "Aerial shooting can be a cost-effective method for reducing the number of feral hogs occurring in high densities."
(Excerpt) Read more at statesman.com ...
Sounds like fun, but probably not a good idea in the long run.
Break out the predator drones!
I'm ready. Let's go make some spareribs!
Well .. that was something ... thought the headline read Federal Hogs.
Any way we can scoop ‘em up and carpet-bomb them over the Middle East ?
This problem would be over if TX offered to pay me to get the job done...
I'll bring the grill.
LOL!
I believe it.
Turn loose the Texas Cowboy Shoot crew out there and I believe we can take care of the problem for them.
Time to load up the AK and get down to TX before they are all gone.
It's under the Fed's control, not TX..maybe they can pay. I actually think they should let TX handle this, then the state should sell raffle tickets to folks who wanna shoot hogs from a helicopter..I also like the idea of predator drones..Gamers could buy tickets to that raffle.
If those gubmint workers can only manage to trap 40 hogs a year, they’re doin’ somethin’ wrong.
I just need a 5 man crew with automatic rifles, air drops for ammo, food & water.
Problem solved!
Not only that, they release them after sterilization.
Don’t need helecopters. Just let people shoot ‘em at night with spotlights.
What is the deal with aerial shooting? It that focus-grouped to cause commies to wet their panties, or something? What is the big deal with shooting some non-native livestock that are out of control? I wish they would just allow more hog hunting seasons. That would probably do it. And offer a reward for boar’s teeth. Cut the number of boars that can service the herd.
Somebody has been watching too many Hollywood movies...
or they they can charge people some big bucks for an aerial hunting permit?
Not too familiar with that terrain — is it easier than shooting from horseback?
Nueces Helicopter Pig Hunt (no music)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiHmYsyVniE
This feral hog eradication program is funded by a group of farmers who are taking progressive action to reduce the devastation done to their crops by these animals. Each and every feral hog is estimated to cause $1400 in crop damage during its lifetime.
Never been in that particular area, but I've been all around it. My impression is the refuge would be in pretty broken country -- lots of small canyons, gulches and gullies.
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