There are a lot of wild hogs on the property I work on. (2500 acres) We hunt and trap them year round. It is not a question of wether we shoot one or not but wether we feel like butchering one or not. Once you start trapping them, they breed like crazy and the holding pen populations start growing exponentially. In my experience, even the born & pen raised ones keep their wild traits and can become a handful. The local hunting leases have quit taking them because the population around here is exploding.
I know of no European/Russian strain hogs ever having been released in this area but with the many hunting leases, clubs and management areas in this part of Florida, anything is possible. I do know that the first hogs released in this area were abandoned by Spanish conquistadors and have been breeding ever since. They grow big and mean, have been hunted with dogs for several hundred years and are generally anti-social on occasion. Around here, a good ketch dog is worth as much as a good truck
and 400lb+ live catches are a measure of hunting prowess. The local Emergency Room is used to stitching up hog hunters and the local vet drives a new F-250 every year and has a freezer full of pork.
Last year, we trapped probably 75. I personally shot 17 hunting them including one with a bow, 2 with a .357 magnum and the rest with a rifle.
