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Feral hog control funds
HENDERSON — A legislative push to secure more money to control the feral hog population in East Texas is headed to Austin.
Bill Hale, Rusk County Precinct 1 commissioner and board chairman of the East Texas Council of Governments, will meet with various state ranching and farming organizations Thursday at a special meeting called by Agricultural Commissioner Todd Staples.
Hale said the meeting will focus on how to spend $1 million allocated by Texas Department of Agriculture in May to fight a growing hog problem throughout Texas by trapping the wild pigs.
This would not be the first time Hale and other East Texas representatives have asked for money to control the feral hog population.
Comments
By jean judice
August 26, 2008 9:08 PM | Link to this
The first step to this hog business is sue the person, persons, and hunting club that back in the early 80’s set these hog loose for game purposes here in East Texas. Second, the ranchers or people with pasture land for cattle and hay should get the bulk of the money to install hog wire around their land for protection. Third, those land owners who have no interest in the population of feral hogs should be mandated by the state to allow hog trappers or hunters to capture these distructive animals. Whatever happened to the livestock law? Shouldn’t this law apply to hogs too?
By james bell
August 26, 2008 10:18 AM | Link to this
I THINK IF THE STATE AND AFFECTED COUNTYS WOULD PUT A BOUNTY ON THE HOGS THEY WOULD SEE AN ABSOLUTE DECLINE IN THE POPULATION.THIS WOULD ALSO ENCOURAGE THE PUBLIC TO GET INVOLVED AND EVERYONE WOULD KNOW WHERE THE MONEY WAS BEING SPENT.
By Miguel Larsen
August 26, 2008 9:22 AM | Link to this
It’s like trying to control fire ants, if your neighbor doesn’t do it, then your just pushing the problem somewhere else.
Without a cooperative effort by adjoining landowners, I don’t see much in the way of productive results. All counties (16 in Northeast Texas) are going to have to get on board, and one million dollars won’t do it. You can do the math. Morris County, where I live, is inundated with them as are all of the 16 counties I refer to.
Along with commissioner Hale’s proposal, perhaps a bounty would encourage more hunters to aggressively hunt or trap feral hogs.