YOUR TEXAS AGRICULTURE MINUTE

Invasive wild hogs still threaten Texas

By Gene Hall
Publisher

Call them wild hogs or feral hogs. The invasive species does great damage in both rural and now urban Texas. Only the Legislature can enact control measures.  

There are a lot of ideas and little agreement. Some folks are ready to volunteer for hog hunts. If few know what will work, I know hunting will not. Wild hogs are remarkably prolific, having large litters, most of which survive. 

About 75 percent of the entire wild hog population in the state would have to be killed just to stay even. 

The numbers, between two and three million wild hogs in Texas and $52 million in annual damage, are now a decade old. There is no doubt the reality now dwarfs those ancient calculations. Perhaps we should start with an effort to find out how big this problem really is.

Certainly, there is not much to stop wild hogs rooting up valuable grass, killing young livestock and consuming seeds as soon as they are planted. 

The preceding commentary is brought to you by Texas Farm Bureau, the “Voice of Texas Agriculture.” Called “Your Texas Agriculture Minute,” TFB will issue thought-provoking editorials each week—via print and audio—to spark understanding of agriculture in the Lone Star State and its impact on each and every Texan.

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