Road kill

[Ranger J]

I just got back from taking my #1 daughter to Disney World for a graduation present.  As I live in the Missouri Ozarks it is a two day 1000 mile drive.  As we crossed Kentucky and Tennessee I was amazed to see the number of dead deer laying along side the road.  Mind you seeing dead deer along a road is nothing rare in Missouri but in those two states it seem as if there was one every few miles.  What really surprised me was that when we got down into Florida a ways I began to see a number of small dark colored dead pigs also.  Are the feral pigs getting that numerous down there?  I have read that in California they have become the #1 most sought after game animal.  We are just starting to get an influx of them into the Missouri Ozarks and I am concerned as to what they will do to our deer and turkey hunting?
RJ

[CyberSniper]

My opinion on this is that they will have a negative impact on the deer over time.
It sure seems like they have been bad news in the area where I hunt.
( South Texas, Medina County )
Feral hogs are very prolific, and can eat just about anything that doesn't eat them first.
A few years ago, I heard stories of a large pack of hogs running down deer
in the Beeville Texas area even.
I consider feral hogs to be a mixed bag, good points and bad points that is.
They are hard to control though, and sooner or later, the bad will out weigh the good I think.

[35Rem]

I'll second that.  Kill em all. They are very destructive.  They are very plentiful in FL. Spent 20 years there before moving "North" (to Alabama)

As hard as you try, you will not get rid of all of them, ever. But you will be better off to try.  They are fun to hunt, but the negative will eventually outweight the bad.

[Wynn]

I live about 25 miles west of Disney. In the last 2 years, I have trapped at least 40 hogs, shot another 20 or so and have seen at least 50 hit by vehicles on the rural section of state highway I live off of and the Interstate nearby. ALL of these were within 2 miles of my house. Yep! we got hogs to spare in Florida. Part of my job as maintenance director at a popular Florida attraction is wild hog control on the property and it is right on Interstate 4. The Spanish brought them here 600 years ago and they've been breeding ever since.

[CyberSniper]

Seems like the hogs have reached a tipping point now though.
Geometric progression. Within the last 15 years here, they have vastly expanded
their range in Texas. They are hot and heavy in areas where I never heard of
them or saw them 20 years ago.

[elmer]

The hogs can be a boon to landowners trying to raise a little money and it's great being able to hunt them 24/7/365, but we do try to keep them thinned out on the deer lease. They can be devistating on habitat.

[curdog]

just to maintain a group of hogs you have to kill 70% every year, or there numbers will increase

[CyberSniper]

Yeah, and that's seldom done in most areas, hence the problem.
People don't fully realize what the deal is with hogs.
Too often try to treat them like they would deer, big mistake.