Anyone in NY taken a hog yet?

[WNY_Whitetailer]

Now that the NYS DEC has issued an edict to eradicate all wild hogs, had anyone here shot one or know someone in NY that has?  My brother-in-laws father saw two of them rooting around in a field in the Western part of the Southern Tier but he was driving by and was not hunting. 


The only requirement to shooting these hogs is that you have at least a valid small game hunting license in NYS.

[DANNY-L]

Not yet in my area but wouldn't mind a few for the freezer. Maybe with this mild winter they will spread out some.

[spikehorn]

I think it was 2-3 years ago somebody in Scott N.Y. took a bruiser of one while deer hunting. Head shot with a 20ga Ultra slug if IIRC.

[Mikey]

Whitetailer:  has EnCon provided any guidance as to what to do with or how to handle those critters if you get one?  I will hunt hog (Russian) at a preserve or game farm where I know they are healthy animals, at least until I shoot them that is, but a hog that has gone feral and has been out on its own for a while can easily pick up transmittable diseases and if you harvest one of those you really need to know what to do with it and how to handle it. 
 
I would assume that if EnCon is so worried about a wild hog invasion they might want some reporting on how many were taken but there is no requirement for that, as I know it, with a small game license - big game, yes but not small game.  Thanks.

[LanceR]

A search of "wild pigs" on the NYS DEC site leads to:

http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/70843.html

There is no "edict" to eradicate wild hogs but the DEC policies have evolved as the feral swine issue has developed.  At various times they have asked folks to shoot them when they had the opportunity, not shoot them since hunting pressure scatters them and causes the reproductive rate and litter size to increase etc.  As near as I can tell the current policy is one of simply stating that they are an unregulated species and that you are free to hunt or trap them.

One challenge the DEC has is that swine are regulated only as domestic animals and since they are a non-game species the DEC cannot regulate them or attempt to control them at the source.  There hasn't been either state or federal funding available to do eradication work for a few years but that looks like that might change with the new budget cycle.

You can hunt them day or night with any legal implement and can use bait, lights, dogs etc.  There are no take limits since they are not regulated.  I say "any legal implement" since you can't be in possession of a centerfire rifle in a "shotgun only" area during the regular big game season (any big game season?).

The webpage above asks that you report taking or sighting feral swine.  It also lists some of the diseases feral swine can carry.  From past experience I'd suggest shoulder length gutting gloves, stay clean.  Wikipedia has a good temperature chart for cooking pork to prevent trichinosis at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichinosis

Large scale trapping of entire groups is the best way to eradicate them but it is labor and time intensive.  It is also dependent on having near real-time information on the group and it's daily travel patterns.  Something like the trap on the web page below, when made with steel fence posts, works well if it is baited properly and the pigs have a few days to become used to being inside the trap.  That leads to the best chance of getting the whole group when the  trap is closed on them.

http://www.wilcoxwebworks.com/hs/hogtrapdetailedplans.htm

There is some question as to whether you need a current trapping license to trap swine.  There is an exemption to the law as it applies to trapping groundhogs (also a non-regulated species) by a farmer on lands he is actively farming but all other trapping normally requires a license.  I asked Gordon Batchellor, the Chief of the Bureau of Wildlife whether a trapping license was need for trapping swine.  He referred the question to Pete Fannelli, the Director of Law Enforcement for the DEC, and the best they could say was that you probably do not need the license.  They did say that it is a pretty grey area and that the DEC would likely have to use the normal regulatory process to publish appropriate guidance at some future time.  I should see Gordon and Pete on the 13th and will ask them about it if I do.

Some of the trapping techniques successfully used for swine elsewhere are illegal in NY so I'd discuss any trapping plans with the Conservation Officers in the county in which you are going to trap.  While it is legal to bait swine the minute deer or bear come to the bait you are in violation of Conservation Law.  There are ways to bait swine that generally keep the deer and bears from being attracted so, again, I'd consult the local ECOs first since they will be the ones to ticket you or not.

I think the big hog that was referred to was this one.  He was apparently semi-domestic and spent as much time away from home as in the barnyard.  He was not a fully feral or wild pig but sure was close....

http://blog.syracuse.com/outdoors/2009/01/sempronius_hunter_bags_huge_wi.html

In that general area there are breeding pig populations confirmed in the general area of Bear Swamp State Forest on the west side of Skaneateles Lake and another one near Scott on the east side.  The second one seems to be the result of wild pigs escaped from the Cold Brook Hunts compound just outside Hewitt State Forest.  Most of the bands found north of the PA border area are concentrated around game farms so there is a very strong correlation between the game farms and the loose bands.  The ones along the PA border are generally due to natural expansion of the PA swine population.

Good luck filling your freezers and I hope this helps.

Lance

[WNY_Whitetailer]

e·dict

- noun 1. official decree

DEC's goal is to eradicate feral swine from the state's landscape.

I don't know about you Lance, but that sounds like an edict to me.  But, I've been known to be mistaken...From time to time.

Anyway, thanks for the link.  Glad to see that the DEC has given us some more guidance.  I guess I'll have to keep my back tag on when scouting this spring or if I go out shed hunting in the Southern Tier.
 
Sent from my ADR8995 using Tapatalk

[spikehorn]

LanceR that was the one I was talking about thanks.

[IronBrigade]

I live in Marion (Wayne County) my Neighbor shot a hog with his bow back in October. It was 228lbs, live weight was estimated at 300lbs.

[WNY_Whitetailer]

I live in Marion (Wayne County) my Neighbor shot a hog with his bow back in October. It was 228lbs, live weight was estimated at 300lbs.

That's a good sized hog...

Sent from my ADR8995 using Tapatalk

[geartow]

I live a half hour drive from scott and spafford where the pigs are . I have spent a day down there beating on doors trying to get land access permission only to be told no and in one case being run off by the farmer. I have seen them from the road and spotting . but have yet been able to hunt them. I am told the farmers "like the money they receive for damages " that is why they do not grant access to hunt.  And I have built a little 44 mag lever just to hunt them I call it my "PIGGIE POPPER" hopefully soon as I have soom leads as to land to hunt them on.

[DANNY-L]

That sounds about right, the farmers get paid for damages even though there are hunters more than willing to help them. Same goes for the way they are issued the nuisance permits for deer.

[ironball]

So all a farmer has to do to earn some extra income is to turn a litter of piglets loose in the woods? I love New York!

[Mikey]

OK, I must have gone dumb or something (open door here whitetailer..) because unless a farmer has his crop(s) insured he would have no financial recourse if his stuff gets eaten by loose piggies.  I mean, this is the same thing as a Act of God, something natural destroying what you have - insurance pays off on houses, boats, farm equipment, possibly cattle, sheep, goats, chickens, cars and the like and I'm certain you can insure or get insurance for your expected harvest, but it sounds strange to me that insurance companies would allow this type of crop predation (if it is really all that bad here) to continue without having the farmers do something to protect their crops.  Also, if you take a look elsewhere at wild animals who feed on crops and the like, about the best you can do (in ny) is get a predation permit from EnCon and I think that allows you just one more animal.
I also think that if the situation gets serious enough, most farmers I have encountered are the kind of folk who will deal with it themselves and not wait for EnCon or the State to jump on in and 'fix' the problem. 
And possibly these farmers have already had bad experiences with hunters and have posted their lands as a result.  I think it is really a 'iffy' situation as to whether a farmer would allow hunters, possibly unknown to them btw, to access their properties to hunt such elusive critters. 
Last month I was checking out some used ATVs in some nearby farming areas and saw a loose piggy walking around a farmer's front yard - now I have no doubt there are people who call themselves 'hunters' who would not have hesitated to drop that porker right then and there using a misunderstanding of the intent of EnCon to reduce the problem as an excuse and maybe this is what some of the farmers in the western part of the state have experienced, so I do not doubt that some may be very 'gun-shy' at having people hunt their lands. 
I also think that folks like Land_Owner, who has a hog problem in Texas, could share some insights as to what happens when hunters from out of the area come down to hunt.  I wonder if it is really worth it for the farmers/ranchers in hog infested areas to have people from outside their areas come down to hunt....

[DANNY-L]

Why couldn't farmers interview and select the hunter and give them written permission to do so,anyone else would be in violation.

[geartow]

They can interveiw and give permission to those they deem fit with no ryme or reason just like the guberment

[rebAL]

Article in NY Sportsman rag advise is to shoot them but not hunt them.  Logic being that if pressured by hunting they will scatter and problem would get worse.

[larry223]

i  live in the western part of catt. county and have not seen any i hope they come
around i have wanted to shoot one with a handgun
larry223

[shawlerbrook]

Larry, Be careful what you wish for. They are not only destructive to crops and the land, but are predators on fawns and turkey nests. They reproduce like rodents and are considered a scourge in any area that they inhabit.

[DANNY-L]

Any update on hog movement? Haven't seen or heard of any being seen in the north other than those that broke out of game farms.

[LanceR]

Danny, with the exception of a bit of territorial expansion across the PA border every confirmed population of feral swine in the state is right on top of a hunting preserve or a game farm that breeds for the hunting preserves.  If you were to overly the map of all those hunting related businesses with the map of confirmed populations they match perfectly....

I seem to remember seeing a population over near Plattsburgh(?).  I will see if I can confirm that but I don't remember seeing anything in the Daks  Although there are a lot of reported sightings around the state it is mostly through landowner reports and cellular capable trail cameras that populations are confirmed or disproved.

Unfortunately the game farms and preserves remain under the control of the Department of Agriculture and Markets since the swine are considered domestic animals in captivity.  It is only when they are loose that the DEC and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Investigative Service (USDA-APHIS) can get involved.

I'd love to see the breeders and preserves fall under the DEC who has 300+ cops and their own criminal investigative bureau to deal with infractions.  There is a current effort by Ag and Markets and the DEC to work out some form of joint control of the industry.  We'll have to see how that goes. 

Remember, this is the same industry who gave us such joys as chronic wasting disease in deer.

For a variety of reasons it is unlikely that either the APHIS or the DEC are going to be publishing any maps of the locations.

BTW, a confirmed breeding population in southern Onondaga and northern Cortland Counties has been hammered pretty hard over the last few months.  At last count at least 40 pigs had been trapped and killed by staff from the APHIS.  It gets a lot harder though when there are only a few pigs to work.  Only time will tell but I'd like to think that is one hot spot we can breath a little easier about.

Lance

[DANNY-L]

Thanks for the update. There was a case in peru thats near plattsburgh