Wild boar..

[jungleboy]

Apparently hunters are part of the problem?

https://edmontonsun.com/news/local-n...0-6e36dc48a47f


Wild boar activity is spreading in Alberta and taking an increasing toll on agriculture and the environment, says a provincial official tasked with eradicating them.

While a high-tech pilot project seeking more effective ways at reducing their numbers is showing promise, the range of the highly destructive mammals has been increasing in northern and central Alberta, said Perry Abramenko, an inspector with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry.

“Reports of them seem to be increasing. Wild boar populations are expanding or we’re getting more reports, or it’s both,” said Abramenko.

Sightings of the wily animals, he said, have spread to the Vermillion, Barrhead and Peace River regions and areas north of Edson, he said.

Ironically, hunters may be playing a role in the animals’ spread from the traditional hot spots of Woodland and Lac St. Anne Counties, he said.



“Hunting usually involves just removing one at a time but they’re so intelligent, they become wary and they’ll disperse and spread,” said Abramenko.

“Hunters are not helping us with eradication, they’re actually making the problem worse.”


The Alberta government is using drones and remote cameras to track wild boars. Submitted

The province tried to counter that in 2017 by ending a $50-per-head bounty program in the two most active counties, though it remains in effect in other parts of Alberta. The nine-year bounty resulted in a cull of 1,135 wild boars.

The bounty also helps the province keep track of the boars, which are inflicting havoc on farms and ranches, said Abramenko.

“We’re starting to hear of damage to crops and pastures,” he said.

“Farmers are thinking it’s from elk or deer but it’s actually wild boar … their tracks look similar. There’s a lot more damage than we’re aware of.”

The boars damage the ground as they root for food with their distinctive, hardened snouts, as well as cause damage to waterways by wallowing, say experts.

Abramenko’s team has been using camera-equipped drones to track down their herds, or soundings.

Corrals baited with fermented corn are then erected and equipped with cellular cameras that alert officials when numbers of boar have gathered there.

“Through an app on my phone, I can send a text command to the camera and it sends a signal to close the gate,” said Abramenko, adding the animals are then humanely euthanized and tested for disease, pregnancies and parasites.

So far, the measure adopted from the United States Department of Agriculture has corralled 18 of the boars.

Effectively controlling the animals means eliminating most of an entire sounder at a time, said Abramenko.

“To keep a population steady, you’d have to remove 70 per cent of that and even after heavy hunting, you don’t get more than 30 per cent,” he said.

Females give birth to two litters a year, each typically numbering five piglets.

The non-native animals were brought to western Canada from Europe in the 1980s to be hunted for sport but were officially designated a pest in 2008 after numbers of them escaped from their enclosures.

Some are now farmed for meat.

While some have put the number of wild boars in Alberta at 1,000 to 1,500, Abramenko said not enough is known about them to be sure.

BKaufmann@postmedia.com

[CBintheNorth]

So hunters have killed an average of 126 wild pigs per year (highly doubt it) for 9 years, and we're the problem?
We're the reason Billy Bob and his cellular gate are only able to catch 18 pigs since he started? Right.
Sounds like someone is about to get their funding cut and is looking for a scapegoat.

And another thing, I have seen several of the only 700 grizzlies in Alberta, but not a single one of the 1,500 pigs alive, or the 1,135 dead ones?
Something stinks, and it's not the pigs.

[jbrow397]

Brilliant argument. "Hunting (removal) triggered breeding and spread so my new trapping (removal) idea will totally work better. Initial results are 85% worse, but don't forget, hunters are bad".

[marky_mark]

Somethings “fishy” about this news release

[NCC]

What a bunch of BS. The bios seem to blame hunters for everything, and now it’s our fault that some putz who’s full time job it is to catch a few pigs can’t get it done.

[fordtruckin]

Originally Posted by NCC

What a bunch of BS. The bios seem to blame hunters for everything, and now it’s our fault that some putz who’s full time job it is to catch a few pigs can’t get it done.

Not Alberta but in Montana it’s actually illegal for you to hunt wild pigs. I believe it’s to prevent someone from importing them to hunt and then resulting in similar issues the southern States have. They sure are hearty and destructive! I don’t wish them on any community.

[wildbill]

Ya she’s a real big problem in Alberta, that’s why we see pics of em’ everyday on this site!
I believe they’re right up there with Sasquatch, unicorns and, honest politicians!
I’d love to dot one with open sights, usin ye ol’ jm 45-70!

[GMX]

I’ve killed my share of wild boars some by Edson some south of mayerthorp. From what I’ve seen these animals are almost impossible to keep contained in there pens. At one farm I seen several areas were the fence was pushed up in an arch and the pigs roamed freely from the swamp to the pen. Makes for a great ambush spot but horrible for crown land. I wonder if hog farms ever get inspected by an outside source to keep them in good shape. And should the framer be liable if found not keeping the enclosures maintained?
On the other hand they have supplied me with many a good meals.

[HoytCRX32]

We need a "Whacking Day"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43RID9cIEAE

[waldedw]

Seriously where do they get their numbers from, 1,000 - 1,500 in all of alberta ?? 10x that would probably still be a conservative number, in 1993 myself and 2 other guys hunter wild hogs on a farm near nojack, in the course of 5 hours we shot 4 and saw probably 50, that was in a 160 acre fenced area of bush, at that time already there were holes in the fence and hogs had escaped into the bush, at the rate they multiply there is probably thousands just from that one location, the fact is they don't have a clue how many there are and some pencil pusher who has never been outside the city limits is throwing out a number, typical of how the government operates, more of our tax $'s hard at work here folks. Yet we hunters are a huge part of this problem🤣🤣

[elkhunter11]

And yet, we pretty much wiped out the wild boar population after they escaped from a hunt farm around Niton Junction many years ago. We killed dozens for the first couple of years, and within five years, we no longer saw any sign of them.

[HoytCRX32]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

And yet, we pretty much wiped out the wild boar population after they escaped from a hunt farm around Niton Junction many years ago. We killed dozens for the first couple of years, and within five years, we no longer saw any sign of them.

To the government, that would mean you made them smarter and they got better at hiding from you Hence (to them) you are part of the problem

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by HoytCRX32

To the government, that would mean you made them smarter and they got better at hiding from you Hence (to them) you are part of the problem

Exactly, just another asinine assumption from our government employees.

[nimrod]

I talked to Perry Abramenko, today, he would not tell me who has the boars on there land, he said hunters will spread them around after shooting, so tight lipped he is, I told him I would kill any problem boars just tell me who to call, no go the Government wats to keep them to them selves, trapping them

[gloszz]

Know what the problem here is? You don't have the same possible ways of hunting these as you would in Europe or the USA. We can't hunt at night, can't use dogs from what I can recall and you cannot really trap them. The biggest issue is hunting them at night since they are nocturnal. One issue I ran into in Texas is that many guys claim hogs are a problem but are making money off of it. Oh and actually many are buying live hogs, to release on their own property to later charge guys to hunt them. Good luck even shooting them in California, since the rules and regulations are so strict.

[NCC]

Originally Posted by nimrod

I talked to Perry Abramenko, today, he would not tell me who has the boars on there land, he said hunters will spread them around after shooting, so tight lipped he is, I told him I would kill any problem boars just tell me who to call, no go the Government wats to keep them to them selves, trapping them

Good on you for calling this guy to let him know that people are paying attention to his claims. He is likely afraid that the hunters will do for free what he wants to spend the rest of his career getting paid for.

I just can't see how it would be difficult to erase a hog population in the first severe winter we get if someone was actually serious about it. Go in with traps when the snow is deep and they are yarded up and wipe out what you can't trap with hog dogs.

[NCC]

Originally Posted by gloszz

Know what the problem here is? You don't have the same possible ways of hunting these as you would in Europe or the USA. We can't hunt at night, can't use dogs from what I can recall and you cannot really trap them. The biggest issue is hunting them at night since they are nocturnal. One issue I ran into in Texas is that many guys claim hogs are a problem but are making money off of it. Oh and actually many are buying live hogs, to release on their own property to later charge guys to hunt them. Good luck even shooting them in California, since the rules and regulations are so strict.

This ^^^ we're trying to arrange a helicopter hunt in Texas in a couple of weeks and it's tough finding a place that wants their hogs eradicated. I'll pay for the chopper but I don't want to pay a couple hundred bucks per pig if we stack a bunch up.

[warriorboy10]

Originally Posted by CBintheNorth

So hunters have killed an average of 126 wild pigs per year (highly doubt it) for 9 years, and we're the problem?
We're the reason Billy Bob and his cellular gate are only able to catch 18 pigs since he started? Right.
Sounds like someone is about to get their funding cut and is looking for a scapegoat.

And another thing, I have seen several of the only 700 grizzlies in Alberta, but not a single one of the 1,500 pigs alive, or the 1,135 dead ones?
Something stinks, and it's not the pigs.

Agree 100%!!

[gloszz]

Originally Posted by NCC

This ^^^ we're trying to arrange a helicopter hunt in Texas in a couple of weeks and it's tough finding a place that wants their hogs eradicated. I'll pay for the chopper but I don't want to pay a couple hundred bucks per pig if we stack a bunch up.

Yea I just got back and my inlaws have a place near the brazos in Weston Lakes and where I usually hunt hogs and fish has been terrible. The Brazos lifted to 45 feet and the weather has been crazy. Rain and high humidity with 77f temperatures and then cold and hot. I haven't seen any hogs visiting my feeders, but they run around the neighborhood and get hit by cars.

Not sure where you will be hunting but join the texas hog hunters page on facebook and ask around. They are a great bunch of guys on there that will help out.

[NCC]

We’ll be around Pleasanton and Pearsall. I have some friends down there setting things up for us. We always have good luck bow hunting and thought the helicopter hunt would be an interesting change of pace if we can find a place that truly wants their hog population thinned out.

From my experience, there are way fewer hogs around than when I started going down there around 1997. I think that night vision optics and helicopter hunting have really helped those who are serious about getting rid of hogs.

[GMX]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R1If0eXKQq8

This looks like fun!! This guy is an pig killer of epic proportions.

[Coiloil37]

I’ve only shot one hog, imo it’s a waste of all the fun a guy could of had. I much prefer a dog and knife but if I was going to shoot them, besides a helicopter this looks like a good time.

https://youtu.be/hPXtpH3SqHs


I’ve seen plenty of pig traps. You don’t need a door activated from your cell phone. A simple trap with a door they push up to open and a sack of wet grain on the roof of the trap has killed thousands of pigs in Oz.

One of the best ways to kill a night is with a good dog chasing pigs through the scrub. Grab the back legs, roll them on their side, kneel on the chest, cut the throat and stab the heart.

[NCC]

We have also hunted them with dogs; that’s probably the best adventure I’ve had hunting pigs. The problem is that I start calving in February so I usually go to Texas in January or early February when deer season is still open and most guys won’t let you run hogs during deer season.

A couple of years ago we hunted them with jeeps that had the roofs cut off, raised seats, big lights, and 10 gauge shot guns. We drove around and found hogs with night vision and then chased them with the jeeps.

We have also hunted with a AR 15 equipped with night vision on a buddy’s ranch who actually wants to eliminate the hogs. We would get the wind in our face and sneak into the sounder to shoot every hog we could. Remember that this is a cull, not a hunt.

I’ve shot several out of a tree with my bow. My favourite way to hunt them is spot and stalk with the bow. They only come out in the open at night, but are actually quite active in the brush during the day. They make quite a lot of noise when feeding so can be found and stalked in heavy cover. If I have all day to hunt I sit on a stand in the mornjng and then spot and stalk until I get tired or hungry.