Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Feral Pig Population Control Bill Introduced to State Senate Proposing an Increase in Hunting Opportunities

The following is a press release issued by the Office of California State Senator Bill Dodd:

A Feral Pig [Picture from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife]

Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, introduced legislation today that would help control California’s growing wild pig population, reducing damage caused by the invasive species to the environment, private property and agriculture.

“Unfortunately, swelling numbers of wild pigs have become a scourge on California wildlands, endangering sensitive habitats, farms and other animals,” Sen. Dodd said. “They also present a major public health risk and have been linked to outbreaks of food-borne illness. My bill will increase opportunities to hunt them and do so more economically so that we may bring our pig population under control.”

California’s wild pig population has soared since various non-native boar and pig breeds were introduced centuries ago. They now can be found in 56 of the 58 counties. Numerous environmental and public health problems are associated with pigs and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife allows year-round pig hunting. Sen. Dodd’s proposal, Senate Bill 856, would lift remaining hunting restrictions allowing for better population control and habitat management.

Sen. Dodd’s bill has support from wildlife officials and farmers, among other groups.

“Feral pigs are an invasive species and the cause of significant damage in our state to the environment, private property, agriculture and other wildlife,” said Eric Sklar, member of the California Fish and Game Commission. “We need to do everything we can to stop them and I applaud Sen. Dodd’s effort to address this problem.”

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“The feral pig population in Sonoma County has gotten to an alarming number,” said Jennifer Beretta, president of Sonoma County Farm Bureau. “These unmanageable herds are tearing up working lands, competing with less aggressive wildlife for food, and rutting the landscape to the point of degraded water quality. We would never advocate for eradicating an animal population, but the ability to manage the population through science-based management practices is advantageous for farming and open space.”

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53 COMMENTS

  1. That’s a rather naive statement M.
    Please consider the fact that this is a VERY serious concern and that you could do some actual due diligence.

    Many know:

    Wild pigs are a menace and a scourge to soils in N America, more so here in CA. And therefore negatively affect many native creatures.

    Some due diligence as to the actual ecology of California and N Amer VS the ecology.of EurAsia & N Africa where they are native may enlighten you to the Facts of the accelerated degradation they cause….all day…everyday here vs there.

    There are different soils types and crust characteristics there.

    Boar rut and therefore cause extraordinary erosion and silt infiltration into watersheds.
    They are out competing many native animals.

    They were brought to Monterey for sport and to monopolize an emergent pork market but they got out.
    And many more have escaped domestication.
    They can go feral and grow tusks in the escaped generation.

    Wild pigs are THE mammal of top negative concern ecologically in CA. PERIOD.

    We should all write our state legislators to request they support the legislation.

    Is bill SB856.

    Hunting limits were already heavily relaxed in the attempt to manage them as “game” animals.
    It hasn’t worked.
    There used to be a 5 bag limit per day.
    Has already been reduced to a no bag limit.

  2. Why not do as my Home state of Texas does. With a field of dreams reference.
    ( if you remove the license to hunt they will come )
    Or simply put in sum counties texas has place bounties on wild hogs , but most let you kill as many as you can knowing the hog is a invasive species that need to be removed fast .
    For you soy boys, girls and attack choppers female hogs can have their first litter by the age of 6 months old and each litter can consist of 13 piglets now take that into consideration this can happen twice a year. The multiplication is alarming .

    • You comment shows you have no idea what your talking about . How so ? Simple if the two big cats you named had any affect of the feral hog population you would not be reading this column. That said any one with a Education from grade school can tell you the hog in North America is a invasive species that has had a population growing out of control since the early 1990’s. As a the most conservative conservationists said ( invasive species must be removed to protect the delicate balance of our natural ecosystem even if it’s seen as sport ) Theodore Teddy Roosevelt.

  3. Rode the Amtrak train down from Oregon to California seen some feral pigs in a pack running same direction as the train below a slope in tall grass/ brush neat not bothering anyone. Looked cute. They clear grass for fires & yes wild animals Coyotes, Mountain Lion, & Bobcats can eat them you bet. Gives the wild animals a better chance at eating. There is so much prairie land out there hope they don’t shoot them all. Even the Golden Eagles maybe Condors can catch them who knows.

    • Again it may look cute and loving buy trust me wild hogs are no loving animal. Wild hogs are violent creatures that put other species into the endangered category. Instead of seeing hogs running it would be better to see dear , or elk maybe Buffalo. But hogs are not good to see .

    • If we don’t shoot them they will breed out of control, you can’t capture all of them or poison them. Hogs don’t need a chance. They are a invasive species.

    • Mountain lions, and other large predators leave wild pigs alone! They will rip the belly out of a mountain lion! You must not have watched “wild kingdom” when you were younger..

  4. Opportunistic hunters, mountain lions typically hunt alone from dusk to dawn, taking their prey (primarily deer) from behind. On average, a lion will kill a deer about once a week. They also dine on coyotes, raccoons, rodents, elk, feral hogs, and even porcupines.
    https://mountainlion.org › frequentl…
    FAQ’s – Mountain Lion Foundation

  5. Predators such as bobcats and coyotes may occasionally take feral piglets or weakened animals, but are not large enough to challenge a full-grown boar that can grow to three times their weight. In Florida, feral pigs made up a significant portion of the Florida panther’s diet.

  6. Like the European wild boar, feral pigs and their piglets are preyed on by a number of carnivores, including alligators, bobcats, coyotes, dingos, golden eagles and mountain lions.

  7. Red-tailed Hawk – Although typically a predator of small birds and mammals, the red-tailed hawk will prey on small feral piglets given the right circumstances. Observations of this hawk species preying on feral piglets on Ossabaw Island off of the Georgia coast have been reported on three occasions. The more open habitat found on Ossabaw Island may have enabled the success of these predatory attempts. In addition, the small size and high percentage of solitary piglets within that feral hog population may account for these multiple observations of this type of predation
    https://feralhogs.extension.org/natural-predators-of-feral-hogs/

  8. The Wild Boar is an omnivorous animal that primarily feeds on plants. Plant matter comprises around 90% of the Wild Boar’s diet as they feed on young leaves, berries, grasses and fruits, and unearth roots and bulbs from the ground with their hard snouts.
    The Wild Boar is an omnivorous animal that primarily feeds on plants. Plant matter comprises around 90% of the Wild Boar’s diet as they feed on young leaves, berries, grasses and fruits, and unearth roots and bulbs from the ground with their hard snouts.

    Just like goats or sheep the boat prevents fires by eating grasses

  9. Hung Hunter? Thanks for arguing with me Liliy, Cute, I was just relaying info. Hope your having a great life. The wild boar is out there preventing forest fires & feeding other animals, don’t kill all of them they can be cute.

  10. The wild boar’s eat grasses & other plant material. Natural Gardener like goat & sheep. What’s wrong with San Francisco. Pretty Bay

  11. https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2018/11/fighting-fires-with-animals/

    They can also change the land itself. By digging through soil litter and turning it over — think of wild boar rooting for food — big plant-eaters can bury material that would otherwise become fuel. Barren passages created by the heavy, ceaseless steps of migrating herds can be seen not only as trails, but as potential firebreaks.

    Liliy you’ll probably end up adopting a wild boar ? to take care of your gardening in the near future. Save you some time for other things.

  12. Mila,
    You are welcome to your quaint little opinions on hogs.

    But your opinions do NOT trump decades of sound ecological science.

    Hogs are a destructive invasive menace in CA & NAmerica, period.

    It’s ok that you are wrong (“leave them alone”).
    But not so okay for the willful ignorance you express.

    Nothing is all good or all bad.
    Benefits from hogs are FAR outweighed by the disadvantages.

  13. People are destructive menaces also. There’s a use for all God’s animals. Even the rats feed the owls. Trap ship somewhere else, shoot, save a little of everything works.

  14. The mountain lion’s love the taste of wild boar, red tailed hawk loves devouring the baby piglets. They can freeze & ship the wild boar ? to starving countries. They can throw the wild boar in the ocean to feed the sharks. The Asian folks eat dog, save the dogs feed them wild boar. Nice shooting the poop with you folks let’s stop shaking our heads at each other. God Bless

      • I agree with regard to Mila’s view as a strong representation of absurdity.

        But I also think that assuming Mila is representative of leftists specifically, or in general, is more than shortsighted and a few steps too far.
        This is indicative of the political bubbles far too many people constrain themselves within and have no real awareness other viewpoints.
        It’s real easy to try to pigeon hole an entire subset of people whose perspectives are not understood and is something I absolutely refuse to participate in.
        Judging those who are misunderstood by those doing the judging is the absolutr antithesis of logic and critical thinking, and is a major problem in our society that strongly feeds division and makes it very hard to see or value our inherent commonalities.

        All that said, Mila is squarely outside the bounds of any reasonable logistical solution to the serious hog problem we have in 35+ states, that is expected to expand into the entire contiguous 48 within 10yrs.

        Simple naivete is a fair assessment of Mila’s viewpoint though there ‘may’ be more to it.

        Conservatives and the far right are also susceptible to naivete and unreasonable assumptions.

  15. Interesting Facts About the Wild Boar
    Wild boar have been domesticated for thousands of years, and have been taken by humans to a wide variety of countries and habitats. They are a very intelligent animal and highly adaptable. This means there are many interesting facts about wild boar.
    Collective Noun – A group of wild boars is called a “sounder.”
    Sense of Smell – Their sense of smell is so good they are used as drug detectors in some countries.
    In Habitat of the Wild Boar
    Wild boar live in a wide range of habitats, all of which usually include a water source and thick brush for protection from predators. The live in scrublands, grasslands, wetlands, rain forests, temperate forests, and savannas.
    Beliefs, Superstitions, and Phobias About the Wild Boar
    In the Chinese zodiac, the pig represents happiness, virility, fortune, and honesty.
    https://youtu.be/fANsFnkaX-U

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MendoFever Staff
MendoFever Staff
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