Feral Hog Boom

By Jeff Berti
The outcome of Missouri’s war against feral hogs remains uncertain, but conservation officials are gathering intelligence behind enemy lines and are building forces for a heated battle.
Missouri currently is in the early stages of a feral-hog population boom. Swine ranging from domestic pigs to wild descendants of razorbacks and Russian boars exist as established populations in more than 20 Missouri counties, mostly in southern Missouri.
In almost every case, these populations grew from animals released deliberately to create hunting opportunities. Unfortunately, those opportunities come with serious liabilities.
Feral hogs running loose create ecological havoc, taking acorns and other natural foods away from wildlife. They root up large expanses of forest and field in search of roots, bulbs, small mammals and the eggs of ground-nesting birds, including quail and turkeys. They also invade crop fields and pastures.
As if that were not enough, feral hogs seek out springs and seeps where they wallow, creating erosion and fouling streams with their feces.
Most feral hogs weigh less than 200 pounds, but they can grow to more than 500 pounds. Regardless of size, sharp tusks and an aggressive disposition make feral hogs dangerous.
Feral hogs also pose an economic threat to Missouri. In 1992, the Missouri Department of Agriculture imposed quarantine on several thousand acres in Carter, Shannon, Oregon and Ripley counties after feral hogs in the area were found to have pseudorabies. Wild hogs can carry the pseudorabies virus without serious symptoms, but the disease is fatal to many other wild and domestic animals.
Besides pseudorabies, feral hogs can carry leptospirosis, swine brucellosis, swine fever, foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever and several other potentially devastating diseases. A federal quarantine to prevent the spread of such diseases would be enormously damaging to Missouri agribusiness.
The Missouri Department of Conservation is committed to the war on feral hogs. The best way of waging war is by educating the citizens of the state on the negative impacts the hogs can cause. The Department is working on making the public aware of why feral hogs are bad and why they need to get rid of them. Missouri DOES NOT want to be a hog hunting state like Texas or Arkansas.
Missouri Statute 270.260 states that it is illegal to knowingly release any swine into the wild on private or public lands. The penalty for violating this statute is a Class A Misdemeanor, with a separate penalty for each swine released. If you have any information about the illegal stocking of wild hogs, please give me a call at 660-654-2677. If you want to remain anonymous, you can also call Operation Game Thief at 1-800-392-1111. However you choose to do it, please report it.