Wild boars with razor-sharp tusks invade upstate New York

[Chenango]

 
Article on http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46702720/ns/us_news-the_new_york_times/#
about the Wild Pig problem in New York State. I did'nt realize the were in the Peru,NY area of
the Champlain Valley already. Getting awful close to Adirondacks.
 
 
 
 
 
Attached Picture from NYS Conservation Department
Caption:
 Feral pigs forage as they are caught on a night-vision camera on land owned by Rulfs Orchard in Peru, N.Y.

[DANNY-L]

Is that near a dec trap or is someone feeding them? With a winter we had this year I think they'll spread rapidly throughout the state.

[Chenango]

Yes, The DEC is trying to trap them being they are difficult to hunt. Their desperate!
 
"Hunting the animals is tricky, given their nocturnal nature. State officials have settled on trapping as the best way to capture an entire sounder of swine. To that end, two technicians have been slowly assembling traps on Mr. Rulf’s property — corrals, 30 feet in diameter, in which dried corn and doughnuts laced with Jell-O powder are luring the estimated half-dozen pigs troubling his farm."

[ironglow]

  Wow, That's moving !  I never suspected they would show up that far north so soon.  I rather suspected we would be invaded here in the western end of the southern tier of counties first.
  A few did appear in Allegany State Park, but were rubbed out immediately. However, even with the "kill on sight" rule, I'm afraid the DEC is losing this war.  Fact is, if DEC loses, we all lose some..sportsmen, farmers, orchards, parks, golf courses etc.

[Mikey]

Aw Gawd, we're all gonna die an dem hogs are gonna root our guts.  We will be overrun by predatory wildlife that will be killin' all the womens and chilruns and rootin' through alla their intestines, and not even the police will be able to stop'm.  We might even have to call out the National Guard.   It's hopeless.  I think the best we can hope for is smoked sausage, anything else is liable to taste funny if those hawgs get into the cities and begin killin' people before we can stop them. 
Just watch, the homeless will be first.  I doubt the democrapts and libruls will get up in arms about it though and even though the homeless may even be somewhat better nourished these days they may not have much of a fighting chance; hogs are known to like hot air grates and that might make it tougher on the homeless.  Drug dealers and those who frequent the streets later on at night will be next and that's when the dealers are going to learn that pocket pistols don't work against 200 lb hogs travelling at 25-30mph when they are coming atcha.  Since hogs like to root they will probably also undermine the supports for the roadway/thruway overpasses which will cause them to collapse and kill thousands of commuters in the process.  And, of course, when the hogs start crashing through inner city homes in poor and underpriveledged areas where people are not allowed to defend themselves, and begin the wholesale slaughter of the innercent victims they find there, then you can fully expect the dumbocrats to try and form committees to study the problem.  Of course, by that time we will have figured out that hogs may be selective in their tastes and may appreciate a sacrifice or two (consider it a conservation effort...and a local democratic counsleman/woman or representative may turn out to be a good choice); the use of sacrifices may even give us a chance to plan a better defensive strategy. 
I think we have to get the message across to the hawgs that we are the kind of people who will kill them and eat them, but since they feel the same way about us the field may be somewhat leveled, so to speak; but they have to know we mean business and that we intend to survive, and kill'm all (or most of them).  We need a clear message - maybe the governator will host a statewide pig roast?  BBQ sause anyone?

[ironglow]

  I wasn't commenting upon the "sharp teeth" and I don't know why that should be mentioned.  What the DEC (aqnd most others) are concerned with are the breedin & feeding habits of the hogs.
   Farmers are concerned because it would be no small feat for a herd of hogs to root up 20 acres of corn in one night.  Hogs are omnivores..they would be pleased to dine on other small animals  especially the tender babies, DEC doesn't relish that idea very much.  There are many reasons why folks are apprehensive about hogs coming into the state.

[Mikey]

OK, I'm getting a night scope and setting up a food plot.  Bring'm on, just cook them thoroughly........and get them before they start slaughterin' the innercent inna cities, or not.......

[LanceR]

OK, I'm getting a night scope and setting up a food plot. 

Good luck with that food plot if you are near any farms.  They are omnivores and opportunist and they can cover a lot of terrain in a short time.  If you live in a farm district the piggies have a several thousand acre food plot to choose from.

I don't know why claims of a "kill on sight" rule or some such keep cropping up as there is no such thing.  The DEC has merely stated the fact that pigs are not regulated (just like groundhogs) and like groundhogs you can hunt them at any time, with any implement lawful to the area and take them in any number.  The only requirement if that you posses a small game license and wear your back tag.  All other rules such as the 500 setback distance from an occupied building to discharge a bow or gun etc still remain in effect.

One gray area still not cleared up is whether someone trapping a pig has to have a trapping license.  Normally the use of any animal trap is regulated and requires some form of trapping license with farmers trapping groundhogs on land they actually farm as the only exception to the hard and fast rule. 

When I asked the Chief of the Bureau Wildlife of the DEC about trapping hogs he consulted with the Director of Law Enforcement and the best they could come up with is that there is no clear answer under current Environmental Conservation Law.  They want the pigs gone from the landscape but the law still says you have to have a trapping license to trap any animal so they advised checking with the Environmental Conservation Officers (and supervising Lieutenant) in the area where you want to try trapping and see what their thoughts are. 

One of the challenges with baiting or trapping pigs is that as soon as you attract deer or bear or trap a deer or bear you are in violation of the law whether they were your target species or not.  As such they recommended making sure the ECOs know when, how and where you are trying to trap pigs so that there is no chance of a misunderstanding.

Lance

[BCarp]

No reports yet (that I've seen) of feral pigs in my region (Southern Tier, Binghamton area), but I imagine it's only a matter of time.
 
Used to hunt them when I was in the Army stationed in Georgia.  Excellent eating...!

[ironglow]

  From LanceR;
   " I don't know why claims of a "kill on sight" rule or some such keep cropping up as there is no such thing.  The DEC has merely stated the fact that pigs are not regulated (just like groundhogs) and like groundhogs you can hunt them at any time, with any implement lawful to the area and take them in any number.  The only requirement if that you posses a small game license and wear your back tag.  All other rules such as the 500 setback distance from an occupied building to discharge a bow or gun etc still remain in effect".
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
 
  First off, the 500ft rule etc., have no function here.  Nobody suggests that any of the common hunting and safety rules be ignored..
 
  Still, New York DEC is very concerned with the feral hog question.  Let's look into what the DEC has to say;
   http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/70843.html
  The DEC recommends that;
 
 "People with a small game license may shoot and keep feral hogs at any time and in any number". (read under "what can you do?")
 
   NY State DEC wants to ERADICATE feral hogs from NY State !  (read paragraph 2)
 
   Parse it if you wish, but that sounds to me like a shoot-on-sight request !