Lifestyle

Is Trapping the Best Way to Control Wild Hog Population?

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Tony Maples Photography

 

“People don’t give credit to the hogs — they’re pretty smart, and they catch onto things fast,” Jason Bond told MRT. Bond runs a “feral hog station” in Scurry County, Texas where he’s figured out a few things about the wild hog population.

Bond says that hogs will figure out traditional traps. They see their family members get stuck inside one, and they learn that it’s nowhere they want to be. Now, Bond uses large, hidden traps that are more like a pen than a noticeable trap. It even sends him photos via a webcam so he knows when to shut the door. Then, Bond heads over and purchases the hogs from the land owner and then sells them to a processing plant.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department says that about 300 years ago, boars were brought here by Spanish explorers, and in the 1930s, Texans imported “Russian boars” for to hunt for sport. Now, their populations flourish and invade crops. When it comes to size, feral hogs “may reach a shoulder height of 36 inches and weigh from 100 to over 400 pounds.”

They’re considered invasive species and unprotected, non-game animals so they can be hunted year round. Hunting can lower the population, but it’s not an accessible solution for every land owner.