Wild Boars in Pa - IMPORTANT

Yep---that's what he said---and these are the same experts that we have put our faith in to do the right thing with the deer in the state. Put a year round bounty on them and make the reserves that let them escape put up some of the money to pay it. You think the deer destroy the birds nesting habitat, and farmers fields---just wait until these critters take hold.

Supposedly the breeding populations the speak of are in Bedford and Cambria counties.
 
When living near Johnstown about 10 years ago i believe quite a few hogs were reported to have made a midnight escape from "Big Mikes" game preserve up near colver or revloc in cambria county.  looks like they never caught up with all of them.
 
Humm,  If im hunting groundhogs could a pig be incidental then???

Here piggy, piggy piggy! I've never seen one in the wild but I would like to. As far as I'm concerned they would be incidental game regardless of what I was actually hunting at the time. Huuummm - wild roasted pork butt. Sounds good to me.

All those deer you take ILLEGALLY with your "killing machine" crossbow probabley doesn't help the population.

I received a response from Brad Nelson of the Allegheny National Forest. Here is what he has to say:
 
 "The State Department of Agriculture has a plan to erradicate
feral swine in PA which involves trapping as the primary means of removing
them from Penns Woods.  Feral hogs are relatively easy to trap using a
corral trap that is baited.  The problem has been that hunters see a group
of 6 or 7 pigs, they shoot 2 or 3 and the remaining ones run to the next
county.  I am very concerned about them reproducing in the wild and the
potential for them to do great ecological damage is well documented from
other states.  If you read the research, you will  not find one state that
has successfully eradicated feral hogs through hunting.
As a hunter, I think it would be fun to hunt wild hogs, but as a
responsible conservationist I know the damage they can cause.  Sitting in
my deer stand, it would be hard to let a group of wild hogs walk by without
taking a shot at them, but knowing that shooting them would only make the
problem worse would make me hold my fire.
I raised pigs as a kid growing up on a farm in Maryland.  I know how easily
they can dig around and get through a fence.  Hunting preserves need to be
accountable for any hogs they turn loose on their preserves."

Brad B. Nelson
 
My response:
 
 I agree that hunting preserves with hogs should be held accountable. If I re-routed the plumbing in my house to dump raw sewage into a stream, I'm pretty sure that I would be held accountable. It's the same concept. In fact, I'm pretty sure that Pennsylvania already has laws that prohibit the release of non-native species. Why aren't they being enforced?
    As for resolving the current situation, it would be a pretty ambitious undertaking to try and trap them all, especially if they've spread as far as rumored. Who's going to pay for that? If you say the State Dept. of Agriculture, then you mean that we, the taxpayers, are going to pay for it. How far do you think that's going to go, with Gov. Rendell's pet projects (think Philly Convention Center & Pittsburgh Penguins stadium)competing for funding? If you recall, after getting his pet projects included in the budget, Gov. Rendell went crying that we needed to find some way to come up with more money, such as leasing I-80 and collecting tolls, because our highways are in such poor shape, and we can't afford to fix them.

we shold be blaming the judge that may a stupid decision to protect the swine, as in pigs not politicians.  be fore the judge's decision, pigs could be shot at any time with no limit, now that they are protected they must be managed. so who's going to pay for this management to protect the farmers, the hunters naturally.

i believe it would be like pigeons, they are considered non-game animals and have no protection status and there for can be taken by any means and when ever you want.  but hey if they want to make it a game animal then let's make money on it.  let it multiply and take over where there are no deer.  that should make the no deer crowd happy.  plus the hogs can get much bigger than deer and most people will say they taste better, who doesn't like bacon and ham.

spoon,

they were considered a non-game species like pigeons and could be shot any time by any means with no rules around them. The PGC had no authority to regulate anyone who was chasing them.

I think it was a good decision on the judge's part. Previously, no agency had the ability to regulate or control how the pigs were hunted. You could have brought dogs for them, you could shoot them with semi-auto rifles, and you could shoot them in safety zones. Technically you weren't hunting and the PGC had no ability to regulate. At least now there is a set of rules for people to follow. The onus now is on the PGC to manage them correctly. Whether that means open season like coyotes or highly regulated like the department of agriculture is calling for, we don't know.

thanks
rick

spoonchucker - PGC released a statement (I believe it was last Fall) claiming that feral hogs were not classified as game animals or wildlife, but an invasive non-native species, that had escaped from captivity. They went on to say that they had no regulatory authority over them, therefore, hunters could take them by any means and without a license.
 
I received another response from Mr. Nelson of the ANF:
"You touch on 2 points that are critical to the success of any
hog eradication program.  (1) funding - It takes money and personnel to
implement an effective trapping program.  I agree that PGC should not have
to bear the full burden of funding this program.  State Ag does not have
the moeny either, but several members of the state task force are exploring
funding options from a variety of sources.  (2) How extensive is the
abundance and distribution of wild hogs? or another way to ask this
question - Are wild hogs so well established that you couldn't possibly
eradicate them by trapping?  Members of the task force and other PGC
personnel indicated that its not yet too late to eradicate them through
trapping.  The Bedford county population and the Tioga county population
appear to be the most extensive and would require the most trapping effort
to eradicate them.  I think Penns Woods deserve the effort to try to
eradicate these destructive beasts.  If Kansas can do it, surely PA is up
to the task..........but we need to act quickly.
Point of clarification - I did not say that they would scatter randomly as
individuals.  State trappers indicated that they remain in groups and
quickly become gun wary.  You are correct that they become very
"woods-savvy"."


Brad B. Nelson

 

spoonchucker - The original article was taken down. I did find this in one of their other documents:
 

"Wild boar, Russian boar or feral hog all refer to a breed of pigs that have been brought into the state by hunting preserves. Many of these pigs have escaped and are reproducing in the wild. It is illegal to release any domestic or feral hogs into the wild. Domestic or feral hogs shall include any animals from the porcine family. Breeding populations are believed to currently exist in Bedford and Cambria counties. These pigs pose a threat to our native wildlife and must be eliminated before their numbers increase to a point where elimination is very difficult.

Because they are pigs they are considered domestic animals by law and the Game Commission has no authority to regulate hunting of these animals. If you encounter these animals while lawfully hunting for game or wildlife we would encourage you to kill them. We recommend to not use any device or method that is not lawful for taking game. The Game and Wildlife Code provides that the possession or operation of equipment or other devices unlawfully used or prohibited shall be taken on the first appearance as evidence of a violation. While the Game and Wildlife Code does not address pigs, it does address lawful methods of hunting and if you use any unlawful device or method you are subject to prosecution. To avoid any potential confusion you should only kill these animals while you are lawfully hunting for game in the appropriate firearm season and while wearing the appropriate fluorescent orange safety clothing."

Here's the link to it: http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/lib/pgc/digestpdfs/2007/miscellaneous.pdf

 

Just remember that they are now protected, until the PGC defines seasons for them. Note that in this article, they do address methods of hunting and unlawful devices.