An aerial assault on wild hogs is under way in Texas. Heli-Hunter, a company started by Ennis, Texas, rancher Craig Meier, reportedly has killed over 4,000 pigs this season.
The company has also taken to the airwaves via a reality TV series called Heli-Hunter, which airs on the Sportsman Channel. The show, in which hunters shoot hogs from the “pork chopper,” was created in part to increase awareness about the significant wild hog issue in Texas.
“It’s been a win-win deal for everyone,” Meier told dallasnews.com. “Landowners are happy they’re getting more pigs killed than ever before. We’re happy we’re getting business. And the sportsmen are happy they are coming, having a good time and getting the experience of a lifetime.”
Ranchers and farmers in Texas were permitted in 2009 to help control the booming wild hog population by hunting them from the air.
In Louisiana, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will be accepting comments until Aug. 30 regarding a notice of intent for the establishment of permit regulations for aerial wild hog control, the Bastrop Daily Enterprise reports.
In Florida, where wild hog hunting laws are very liberal, Christian Berg in Petersen’s Bowhunting magazine writes: “When it comes to sheer bowhunting fun, wild hogs are hard to beat.” Berg recounts a recent adventure in central Florida in which he attempted to take one pig each with crossbow, compound bow and recurve bow. He called it a “ham slam.”
South Georgia farmers are experiencing a surge in problems with wild hogs, an Albany TV station reported.
“We’re just out trying to make a living and they’re making it extremely hard,” said farmer Robbie Carnahan.
In Texas, mysanantonio.com has an interesting report on the lionfish, known as the “wild hog of the ocean.” Divers in the Gulf reportedly are spotting the venomous fish more often and in increasingly shallow water.
