I saw a show on tv several nights ago about the destruction wild pigs are causing in the southern states of the US. It's amazing the amount of destruction they can do in a single night. It seems they are also expanding their territory and heading further north every passing year. In Florida they are getting so bold that they are coming right into town in heavily populated residential areas. Besides the destruction they cause to vegetation, they are very mean and dangerous animals as well. Does anyone in this group have a problem with these nasty critters or a story you would like to relate about them? Not so sure I would like to tangle with one from what I saw on the tv show. They were hunting the hogs with dogs and some of the dogs got tore up pretty good. Although it did look very exciting to hunt them this way. I was also wondering if the meat tastes like domestic pork. When they harvested the hogs on this show, they had the meat processed and donated it to a homeless shelter as not to waste it.
To me it does taste different. but it has to be a variable...diet & mast, harvest size, harvesting methods/butchering.... a very different lean but most supermarket cuts these days are way too lean for my tastes. Chops and loin cuts are almost devoid of taste. Reason most are brined and undercooked from old day recommendations. Only one place in town where I can get a slab of belly these days, all the rest is salt pork or similar size at the Asian markets, hocks up here are all smoked, even ground pork is 3$ or more a lb . So shoulders are meat of choice for me, esp. for making sausage and most all my Mexican dishes. Chefs are buying up the piglets of more exotic breeds and sending to finishers. some of this is is similar taste if finished on acorn or other nut mast. But wild boar is also on their menu these days. Wild boar tastes pretty good but should be w/o saying... if properly prepared, don't know about pork belly/loin meat from them. Had a shoulder up here that was as good as any Boston Butt, was a bit leaner, yet slow cooked in a Ragu it was very enjoyable. Conversely had a chop in GA. grilled that was as tough as leather, (drunken soldier BBQ from hitting one w/ a car). Wild boar is a delicacy in EU,had it in FRG and Italy, excellent dishes. Catching on in the US and certainly the taste is not like the commercial ultra lean bred pig common today. Chef Eric Rupert recently had a PBS show on Tuscan Boar hunting. Similar to US. Drive hunting w/ dogs and shotguns.
Feral hogs are an invasive alien of no use in American eco system. Herd animals, mostly. They cause wide spread destruction of agriculture every where it lives. Introduced thru the South and later thru SW by the Spanish in the 1500s, English in the 1600s colonies, followed Settlers west, wide spread problem in US now days. Hogs eat just about anything and all night long ( as that Canadian Murderer Pickton knows all too well) . Russian Boar was also introduced for sport, not as big as feral ( ~400ish lbs) but huge examples of x breeding are showing up. Google image for Hogzillia. As hogs generations go more feral and X, they get the tusks and hair and mean... really, really mean. Javelina are in the SW are actually peccary( related) but can cause similar results if near aggie fileds, yet these are native and deserve a different approach. especially to keep them from disease introduction. don't know if Javelina able to x-breed with pig. These are edible but do not taste so good, esp. if butchered poorly or if you get musk on the meat. Back to hogs, potential source of many diseases, accounts for just about all (very few) trichinosis incidents in the US every year. Believe one was sourced as a bear. Recently feral hogs were suspected as the source of spinach contamination in CA. Big worry there may be more of this to come.
Less hunting pressures and hunting bans have increased the size of the herds, thus territory expansion and crop destruction and as you said even moving into towns to feed (same problem up here with Turkey, Cougar and Bear, Coyote in LA) . Prolific breeders. Tough to hunt because they can get under and through the thick underbrush quickly, fences don't usually stop em. As you said really need dogs or a chance encounter. Bad eyesight, excellent hearing and like turkey, rarely r u you are going to walk em up. Blinds or dogs. Small problem in WA State:
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understand they are a problem in PA also
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this is really a gray area for a gardening unless they are in yours.
Hi Gunner :) Thank you for the very informative post. I didn't even realize that we had wild hogs in certain PA counties. I'm in central PA and hunted all my life and never saw a hog in our area. We are getting more and more coyotes around here and I feel it's only a matter of time until the hog population will invade us also. Perhaps instead of growing tomatoes in my garden, I should be breeding hog dogs :) I would imagine a good dog brings a hefty price.
Speakign from experience: Wild pigs do significant damage to pasture and yes, they do rip dogs up very, very badly. Pig hunters use collar chest protectors on their dogs because of the damage that pigs can do. Human pig hunters are probalby worse than the wild pigs. They will trespass at will, cut fences and are generally a bunch of low lifes who farmers do not welcome in their area.
I saw that show too, it was really scary. We had a domestic pig in our yard once, and it dug holes, rutted around, and made a mess generally. It was about
5 or 6 feet long, a big porker. It left and went somewhere else. The Animal Control guy & I couldn't find it then. DH told me not to shoot it cuz he couldn't get it in the pickup to take to butcher!!! Lucky piggie, I was seeing bacon forever!! There was going to be a big BBQ!! Never did find out what happened to that pig. Nanzi
, through a glass darkly I might add. =A0You have not a
Always with the ad hominems huh billy?
There is no need for your divisiveness, nor do you have a dog in this hunt.
As for farml comments, I think he knows his "opinion" of hunters is not shared by many farmers as many State Wildlife organizations are working w/ farmers to find hunters to address the growing problem but he must feel it was important to say what and how he did ...or not. I am curious as to how he" knows" pig hunters will trespass at will, cut fences and are generally a bunch of low lifes who farmers do not welcome in their area?
Well no wild pigs yet. However the township every so often allows volunteering hunters, groups of four, to find and track down coyotes. No neighbor is against the coyote hunters here ( at least I know of ). The hunters do trespass at will. The hunters come during the daytime summer on a off hunting season. Many here know who the hunters are. Last year they found two dens with about twenty coyotes each.
There is no need for your divisiveness, nor do you have a dog in this hunt.
As for farml comments, I think he knows his "opinion" of hunters is not shared by many farmers as many State Wildlife organizations are working w/ farmers to find hunters to address the growing problem but he must feel it was important to say what and how he did ...or not. I am curious as to how he" knows" pig hunters will trespass at will, cut fences and are generally a bunch of low lifes who farmers do not welcome in their area? ______________________________________
'She' knows what she's talking about because she and her S.O. own a farm where wild pigs are seen in spring and autumn or at other times of the year when drought forces them out of the forest.
She lives in Australia where feral pigs are already a major problem because it's a big country with a sparse population and farmers and others have already found that pig hunters are a similarly major problem.
So, if they are't there yet, expect problem pig hunters coming to a rual locality near you as a result of information sharing round the Net.
We have wild (feral) pigs (Sus scrofa) in Sonoma County and even though we don't have much in the way of typical agriculture, except grapes, environmentalist are upset by the pigs (and the grapes) impact on native flora and fauna. For the most part, the pigs reside in wilderness regions, with rocky hills that are heavily forested. If you read Michael Pollan's "Omnivore's Dilemma", then you read about him hunting pig in Sonoma County (Dry Creek Valley).
I thought the idea of cross posting to alt.food.barbecue was funny. What do I know?
Don Staples has given advice on forest restoration which is to "strip" cut what you have, and replant a monocrop of trees (one specie) with the intention of selling the wood later. There was no concern for the wildlife or the forest ecology web. Most recently Don was all hot to "summarily execute" Bradley Manning, before he even had a trial to ascertain his guilt. This was 2 days, IIRC, before U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot by a similar nut case, who felt entitled to mete out punishment as he saw fit.
If Gunny wants to defend Staples, I won't try to stop him.
Excuse me, ass hole, but show where your "Strip cut" (never heard of that one) is what I recommend. :You haven't a clue, never had, never will have, typical west coast ass hole. Your monoculture seems to be pot.
Does anyone not see Staples' anger management issues, or the imprudence in blindly following his advice?
Visit his forestry site. Notice the clickable links to "assessment, marketing, and sales" and the one non-clickable notice for "Wildlife Management", and nothing for biodiversity.
Even Staples seems to have doubts about his own wisdom when in one of his pityful melancholy monologue he writes, " we are merely the dirty underbelly of the profession, the one's that actually get mud on our boots, what could we collectively know about the profession of forestry. We don't get the strokes, the diamond studded collars, or the "Forester of the Year" awards. All we do is grow trees and manage forests. This site represents the real world of forestry. The archivists will call us a "CULT", or untermenchen, of the real forestry world recorded in the great Halls of Ivory."
Gag, I think I'll go be sick now. (Gunny may call that an ad hominem attack. I call it sarcasm well deserved.)
Sounds like a thug criminal problem or a bunch of eco fairies at work or both. Perhaps its because you were once a penal colony and these hunters are the descendants of those folks? Now that I have your full attention; No farml, you have made it abundantly clear from your posts that you are the farmer subject matter expert from the OZ with a predilection for spreading manure and because you have a farm, you are now also the hunting expert.
But I do not think you get to shed the prejudiced old bitty label by saying someone is clueless because he is not from your great land of Oz. Or claiming you know because you and hubby own a "farm" down under. Despite this very lame attempt to justify your prejudicial remarks you make the same tired old overly general assumptions as you do with your views on "organic" gardening. Nothing new for sure.... the same old recycled dogma beginning with "back in the day" and cherry picked google links. But for a moment let=92s assume your logic approach is correct, that based on the vast experience you possess because you have a =93 farm=94 , know someone that knows someone and can give two(2) google links to "prove" it so ; all hog hunters are pigs. Lets try your "all inclusive" logic in another example.
In my limited experience, the Aussies I have worked with were a decent enough bunch of fellows. Just never did understand why they just sat in a male bonding group getting shitfaced on beer all nigh. then when the few would have enough liquid courage they would try to hit on the =93Sheilas=94. Course you can imagine how the rejection phase would go when the one got shitfaced and slopped his drink all over the girls. Downright embarrassing, it was. I have to ask, is that a cultural thing or would that be a series of isolated incidences. Should I just assume it applies to all Aussies based on the actions of the four (4) I have worked with? Now, the cop from Brisbane who I ran with at the FBI National Academy was a pretty decent fellow, older and married, except he liked to do the Crocodile Dundee thing a bit too much, especially the night he bought the cheap shiny Bowie Knife @ the Ace hardware store cuz he thought it was funny to say ...=94 Now THAT's a knife=94.. to the crowd, .not the smartest thing to do in a Washington DC bar with a murder rate average of 8 a night, The only thing that saved him was we had more badges in our group than the 2 U/ C cops did , just no jurisdiction but he got a pass on that stunt and we quickly left for Quantico. Would not have looked too good being arrested for having a 12=94 knife in a bar while attending the FBI National Academy, him being the class president and all. So based on these very real incidents and having establishing and equating some bona fides/ experiences here with your countrymen ( such as you attempt as the subject matter expert by claiming your bona fides on hunters being a farmer queen and knowing someone that knows someone...), I have to throw out the fact your countryman Mel Gibson has been in the news so much lately I should make the assumption that all Aussies are drunken women hating bigots because Gibson goes off on the cops about the great Jewish conspiracy and his ex in more than a a few of his DUI/Domestic Violence arrests ? Is that truely the way all Aussie Males are or is this an overly broad reach such as you attempt?
I figured the arrogant American no-nothing thing would surface so I called my cousin when I first read your BS statement ( note the empty post because I pulled this instead of the usual arguing with a fencepost) . He now farms the old homestead up North of Barrhead in Alberta, CA (Canada=85 not California). It=92s a bit over 500 hectares of soy and wheat, and been in the family for well over a century now. Part of the Scandinavians from the US moved to homestead the Canadian prairie back in the day. A few head of cattle, dairy cows and pigs, the usual chickens and such. Is that enough for you to accept him having some bona fides on being one of the Farming Clan? Well, I asked him about hog hunting to see if a Canuck felt the same. He said he has heard of a few popping up every once in a while in the area but mostly their newly escaped which they just round up and take back cuz everyone knows each other. Not much has changed there except the young move off the farm. There has been a few feral pigs shot but more damage around to think there is a bigger herd. Apparently there is a pay to play game preserve w/ the real Russian Boar over by near the Rockies but they=92re not the ones the Canadian Government is worried about. There is estimated to be close to a thousand feral pigs/Boar throughout Alberta now and NO he nor the neighbors have had any problems with hunters. Farmers are wanting them gone, In some places the bounty is 50 CAD for a pair of ears, but yes there are a few wanting the hunter to pay to hunt despite this news item posted in 2008: =93The Alberta government is hoping a new regulation introduced in the spring will control the wild pig population. Landowners must now actively report and eradicate non-captive boars. Otherwise, provincial officials could go onto their properties, kill the boars, and send bills-for-service to the landowners. So there are many land owners u there willing to let em hunt rather than pay to have the Gov do it ? So that just does not support your theory of " bunch of low lifes who farmers do not welcome in their area". Oh here is the requisiste two (2) google links
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it is not just the =93States=94 nor am I clueless there old wise and benevolent Farmer Queen. I do not see a general hatred for hunters that you so profess.
Since you have proved you can google to find the odd cherry picked reference (a bad billy habit) in an attempt to prove your point and save face. Google wild hogs and some of these specific States; Wisconsin, Michigan, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas ( the home of the Razorback!), Texas, Florida or Georgia. You are going to find a mix of stories=85=85 just throw out the ones that begin with=85" I know it to b= e true because my brother=92s sister=92s uncle=92s mother knew a fellow that married his sister who told me=85. " or "I read it for fact on the Internet " or the more popular " If I'm lying, I'm dying"..... those are all acceptable forms of validating the truth on Newsgroups.
As for when we catch up to your country?... North America has a couple of hundred years start on your introduction of hog and they are well established and prevelent in most all the States, Mexico and Canada. Plus there is more European Boar x-breeding, the big boys. So when you say " if they are't there yet, expect problem pig hunters coming to a rual(sic) locality near you as a result of information sharing round the Net." I think you are a bit too late to use that apocalyptic excuse for a truth. I did google " hog hunting in Australia" and viewed a few videos adn some stories, still didn't see the death and destruction you foretell. But if you read it on the net if must be true for all to see,.... billy does that one alot also.
Oh yea I did read of the hunter that was tracked down by plane in your country as he driving over fences trying to get away, is that the norm you wish to portray? Still there can be a rotten apple in every barrel, but really=85.to say what you did about hunters is pure superficial BS with just a top sprinkling of fact to hide the filling . I'm betting the vast majority are decent hunters with the usual sprinkling of gun freaks wanting to shoot anything that move mixed in.I find your myopic views a bit. If the civility in your country is so broken ....work on fixing it rather than broadbrushing folks with halfbaked views.
Seems we have had pig comments before. Wrestling them it was but here you go again continuously make my ad hominem point. But again, this subterfuge is relevant to what billy? That you got pig ? That you somehow are a previdliged class because you have grape? That M. Pollan is a low-life thug cuz he is hunting pig as farml claims all pig hunters are?
Not much and we established that long ago.
It is called "Clear Cut", but again what is your point, what relevence does clear cutting have to do with hog hunting? Just don't see the connection here.
and replant a monocrop of trees (one specie) with the
Again your point? To quote your girl Palin, WTF...?
Well it is clear now what dog you got in this hunt, the green one. But again you wouldn't know a Gunny from a Gunner as evidenced by your ignorance on alluding to US Support to the Tunisian and Egyptian "Police" with American tanks and F-16 or supplying them with Kalashnikovs and bullets on the "my politics are bigger than your politics" way OT thread . It may dawn on you later when you realize how F/U'd your claim is. We won't even go into your crap of pretending you know anything about the EU, or American economics for that matter. But I note you like to post OT here a lot. Is that cuz you are persona non gratis with the real Politico's Newsgroup? But my how you do stretch google facts so as to appear "smart" with the gardening group, that and browbeat folks. You continuously amaze me with how much you play these little pseudo intellectual games and throw out bait. Yet it seems I'm going to have to buy you peppermint tennis shoes for your birthday cuz it seems you always have your foot in your mouth afterwards.
So debate with facts billy and defend the position (when you actually have one) quit attacking the person. Don, you need to pay heed here also.
Apparently the Germans love wild pig. We apparetnly export quite a bit of it to them.
LOL. Sadly it wasn't even an attempt at a defence of Staples. It was a demonstration of a parochial, lowbrow mindset in semi-literate style. It was worth a good smirk.
:-)) You're welcome to him. I knew as soon as I saw the reference to convicts that it was going to be the usual trash thinking rant.
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