As hunting season nears, many wildlife officials across
the upper Midwest are asking hunters to line up their sights on snouts and tusks, as well as antlers. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Brian Bull explains:
Transcript
As hunting season nears, many wildlife officials across the upper
Midwest are asking hunters to line up their sights on snouts and
tusks, as well as antlers. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Brian Bull explains:
In Wisconsin alone, feral pigs are roaming through 27 counties. The
animals are damaging crops and hurting native ecosystems, and have
even killed small deer. And since an adult sow can wean up to a
dozen piglets a year, their numbers are hard to control.
Bryan Woodbury is a wildlife damage specialist with the Wisconsin DNR.
He says hunters should feel free to bag any feral pigs they meet – but
they should first make sure they’re not someone’s livestock.
“They’re not the distinct pink color, or the black and white style –
they tend to be darker color with longer hair, the boar may have a tusk
that you can see… they will pose a threat if you get up close to them
and tease them or threaten them in any way, they may do a charge or try
to fight back just like any other wild animal would try to do. But
their main instinct is to run away.”
Woodbury adds that feral pigs should taste just as good – if not
better – than those on the farm. Besides Wisconsin, many other
states are having problems with feral pigs, including Illinois,
Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
For the GLRC, I’m Brian Bull.