States loosen rules on hunting for feral swine

The hunt is on for hogs -- feral swine, that is, which can stand three feet high, weigh hundreds of pounds, and damage property with their hooves, tusks and snouts as they root for grubs and other food in the earth. (Michigan Farm Bureau photo)

"Across the country, game wardens, wildlife biologists and livestock commissioners have started enlisting hunters to control the population," Michael Brick reports for The New York Times. "North Dakota began an eradication program in January. Kansas has hunted hogs from helicopters. Last month, the Pennsylvania Game Commission ordered unlimited culling by licensed hunters. And new regulations in Mississippi this year allowed wild hogs to be “hunted, taken, killed, chased or pursued on private lands at any time” with any sort of weapon.

Brick writes, "They run pickup trucks off the road. They prey on young livestock and woodland creatures. They carry disease. They gestate in four months and deliver litters of a half dozen. But a landowner’s menace can be a sportsman’s delight. Even to old hands, wild hogs have proved hard to kill and harder to catch. They recognize traps. They move at night. They run quickly over short distances. They evade hunters in the thick brush. When pursued, they lead dogs into the water to drown. Failing that, they back up against a rock or a tree to fight." Brick's story also gives details of a Texas hog hunt.