Using Poison To Control Wild Hog Populations

Hunters like us kill thousands of wild hogs every year in Texas but they’re still increasing in numbers and now estimated in the millions.

Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Sid Miller said hunting and trapping feral hogs has not worked so he wants to try using a pesticide to control hog populations. He approved the use of warfarin-based products to control them. According to Texas Ag office, extensive testing of warfarin has been conducted in Texas since 2008.

They hope to give agriculture producers and landowners in Texas a new tool to fight the destructive hogs. The label approved by the Texas Department of Agriculture is specifically designated as limited use because of these extra precautions. Anyone distributing the bait will have to be licensed.

Most hunters and environmentalists fear using the poison will hurt other wild animals and contaminate the food chain without further testing of this crazy new idea. Furthermore, hunters are concerned with the harvesting of the hogs affected for food consumption.

There are organizations trying to stop this poison from being introduced in the wild without further testing at the very least. The Texas Hog Hunters Association has collected signatures on this petition opposing the use of pesticides to control wild hog numbers.

As of now, Texans can hunt feral hogs year round day and night with only a hunting license. Even with thousands of hunters taking wild hogs year-round the non-native feral hog population has skyrocketed with an estimated 2.5 million feral hogs roaming in the state causing millions of dollars worth of damage to crop lands, farms, fields and forcing native wildlife out of the areas.

Even the big cities have a hog problem. Cities such as Dallas and Austin hire contractors to trap them and remove them. Everyone agrees Texas has a real problem with wild hog populations growing each year but how do we go about handling this particular problem without hurting our native wild game while doing so?

What are your thoughts on introducing poison to control wild hog populations?

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