Hunting - yes or no?

[Kranswurm]

Anyone else up to speed with the feral hog problem in the good ole US of A?

 

They are a hybrid between domestic pigs brought across the pond by the Conquistadors and Wild Boars brought in from Europe for hunting, And they are breeding off the scale  with no natural predators, displacing wildlife, carrying diseases and ruining crops so there is an open season on them and a million YouTube videos of gun lovers using their latest toys in feeble attempts to annihilate  them. That is if you can call a semi automatic assault rifle with night vision a toy.

 

What becomes obvious is how so many of them gun lovers enjoy the wholesale killing, which is quite disturbing to me. Often they will silt a sow open to see how many buns were in the oven.

 

The only effective method of control is to professionally trap and cull the whole sounder, which some vets make a living out of.

Not US of A but France...... Wild Boar...

[DJR]

That's very cool DJR. But I'm confused, do you allow hunting of the springbok and gemsbok or not? Also, is this property fenced or not? 

It was game fenced on one side when we started, Now it is game fenced on 3 sides and will be closed soon.  Fixing fences is a permanent job when you have aardvark. Once the 4th side is fenced also, the system will be theoretically closed.

 

The gemsbok spread to two neigbouring properties in the 1st few years, but are now resident. Our springbok get out whenever there is a flood (every few years) and fences are washed away.We would prefer it to stay open, but the neigbours want it closed. Kudu always came and went because no fence keep them in or out.

 

Hunting is allowed on a limited basis and has to be done to keep the numbers in balance. We don't have any large predators that can take out gemsbok, but the springbok numbers stay stable from natural predation by lynx and jackal.

[Patchelicious]

It was game fenced on one side when we started, Now it is game fenced on 3 sides and will be closed soon. Fixing fences is a permanent job when you have aardvark. Once the 4th side is fenced also, the system will be theoretically closed.

 

The gemsbok spread to two neigbouring properties in the 1st few years, but are now resident. Our springbok get out whenever there is a flood (every few years) and fences are washed away.We would prefer it to stay open, but the neigbours want it closed. Kudu always came and went because no fence keep them in or out.

 

Hunting is allowed on a limited basis and has to be done to keep the numbers in balance. We don't have any large predators that can take out gemsbok, but the springbok numbers stay stable from natural predation by lynx and jackal.

That raises the question, instead of hunting for conservation, could one take some of those canned lions and introduce them to areas where big buck numbers need to be kept down?

[DJR]

That raises the question, instead of hunting for conservation, could one take some of those canned lions and introduce them to areas where big buck numbers need to be kept down?

The fence to keep lion in will cost around a million Rand a kilometre and is a nightmare to maintain. Last time I looked, a single wild pryde needed something like a 100 000 hectares. Solar panels, transformers, electrified fence, sooner or later it fails and the lion WILL escape. Very few have the means and the land large enough to keep wild lion (as opposed to the tame bred in captivity type)

[Patchelicious]

The fence to keep lion in will cost around a million Rand a kilometre and is a nightmare to maintain. Last time I looked, a single wild pryde needed something like a 100 000 hectares. Solar panels, transformers, electrified fence, sooner or later it fails and the lion WILL escape. Very few have the means and the land large enough to keep wild lion (as opposed to the tame bred in captivity type)

But those rich people who pay hundreds of thousands to hunt lions, for conservation of course, could donate that money instead of shooting them?

[Fruity]

Anyone else up to speed with the feral hog problem in the good ole US of A?

 

They are a hybrid between domestic pigs brought across the pond by the Conquistadors and Wild Boars brought in from Europe for hunting, And they are breeding off the scale with no natural predators, displacing wildlife, carrying diseases and ruining crops so there is an open season on them and a million YouTube videos of gun lovers using their latest toys in feeble attempts to annihilate them. That is if you can call a semi automatic assault rifle with night vision a toy.

 

What becomes obvious is how so many of them gun lovers enjoy the wholesale killing, which is quite disturbing to me. Often they will silt a sow open to see how many buns were in the oven.

 

The only effective method of control is to professionally trap and cull the whole sounder, which some vets make a living out of.

Hybrid bacon?

 

 

 

Found this: Wild Pigs Are Taking Over America and Your County Is Next

https://gizmodo.com/wild-pigs-are-taking-over-america-and-your-county-is-ne-1791931784

Although the article is from 2017

 

 

And a more recent article from August:

Feral hogs cause up to $2.5 billion in damage a year, so the government is boosting efforts to fight them

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/03/hogs-run-wild-but-usda-doubling-efforts-to-fight-problem.html

Edited October 18, 2018 by WeekendWarrior80

[Dirt De Vil]

Hunting - Yes

Hunting imo - tracking your prey for 6hrs and taking the shot downwind from 200m plus, taking your kill home for the pot or biltong, then having a beer as a toast.

Shooting - No

Shooting imo - killing a blesbok from 50 meters away with a elephant gun on the back of a bakkie on the midday break from lounging under the lapa while your bud holds your branna

[Patchelicious]

Hunting - Yes

Hunting imo - tracking your prey for 6hrs and taking the shot downwind from 200m plus, taking your kill home for the pot or biltong, then having a beer as a toast.

Shooting - No

Shooting imo - killing a blesbok from 50 meters away with a elephant gun on the back of a bakkie on the midday break from lounging under the lapa while your bud holds your branna

In the name of conservation, what’s the difference?

[Goodbadugly]

That raises the question, instead of hunting for conservation, could one take some of those canned lions and introduce them to areas where big buck numbers need to be kept down?

Easier said than done. Canned lions are also lazy lions. Nobody to show them how to hunt. Like social grants. Virtually impossible to get these okes off their haunches.

[Slowbee]

In the name of conservation, what’s the difference?

The necessary evil to try do good.

 

Where there is a demand and money to be made, there will always be a supply.

[kosmonooit]

Hybrid bacon?

 

 

They are harvested and the meat is good for cooking / roasting , and if you capture them you can take them to a buyer who will process them, but supply exceeds demand it seems - also one needs to cook the meat at a certain temp to ensure the diseases they carry and not transmitted.

 

Part of their success story is how smart they are, apparently one must take out the old sows first to 'dumb the sounder down"  because they are wised up to all the dangers and human tricks to take them out, and teach that to the youngsters. The boars are generally on their own and go around from sounder to sounder sniffing for action the whole time.

 

Australia seems to have a similar problem with hybrid feral hogs, cats, frogs ..

Edited October 18, 2018 by kosmonooit

[DJR]

They are harvested and the meat is good for cooking / roasting , and if you capture them you can take them to a buyer who will process them, but supply exceeds demand it seems - also one needs to cook the meat at a certain temp to ensure the diseases they carry and not transmitted.

 

Part of their success story is how smart they are, apparently one must take out the old sows first to 'dumb the sounder down"  because they are wised up to all the dangers and human tricks to take them out, and teach that to the youngsters. The boars are generally on their own and go around from sounder to sounder sniffing for action the whole time.

 

Australia seems to have a similar problem with hybrid feral hogs, cats, frogs ..

The Western Cape also have this problem and it is getting worse. In parts of the winelands as well as up the west coast, they are very common . They cause quite a bit of damage so some crops. Parts of the Welvanpas mountain bike route near Wellington was built by basically following the trails the pigs made.

 

They are not a different species or a hybrid, but simply domestic pigs that went feral. What is interesting from a biological point, is that of all domesticated animals, they revert back to the wild state the easiest. Not only do they go wild quickly, but within a generation or two they also change physically. They are leaner (obviously) and they develop bigger tusks. Soon they resemble the wild boars of Europe, especially the younger ones.

[Tabula Rasa]

https://www.news24.com/Video/SouthAfrica/News/watch-hit-it-between-the-eyes-elephants-charge-at-hunters-after-one-shot-down-20181017

Laughed when they ran.

[FrankG]

That's why I said Kruger is probably the only reserve big enough to allow natural processes and we don't have to interfere.

 

We build fences, screw with nature, and then need to kill animals to bring balance as a result of the imbalance we have directly created?

[Slowbee]

Yes, humans are the problem. That's why I said Kruger is probably the only reserve big enough to allow natural processes and we don't have to interfere. However, all we can do now is try and conserve every little piece of land that is in a natural state. Whether it is 10 ha, 100 000 ha, has a fence around it or not. My whole argument is that whether you like it or not, hunting contributes to the conservation of these pieces of land. No-one has yet given evidence to the contrary here. 

Kruger is one huge zoo. A kinda well managed Zoo - but a zoo non the less.

 

It is only within the last 5 years they have closed most of the boreholes. The simple presence of the boreholes changed the entire system dynamics. The use of elephants to control stratification and hence bush encroachment coupled with fire means then entire system is managed. Yes natural process occur - but they are managed. Whether they are well managed is an entire other discussion.

[Tabula Rasa]

I hunt 2ice a year and love it. It is a friends family mens weekend but my daughter already told me she is going with next year. I hunt to eat. The buck is what supplies me of meat for the whole year. This year I shot 6 springbuck , blesbok and blouwildebeest. I have fillets, steaks, rugstring, sosatie, kaaswors, braaiwors, mince patties and bones for potjiekos. I don't have to buy meat again, except for the lamb for tjoppies. Been hunting for 30 years now.

I'd love to taste some of that meat! I've only had springbok once and it was unlike any other meat I've tasted before.