It is illegal to hunt wild boar in Alberta

Status
Not open for further replies.
Wild boar and feral hogs are a bit different, though there is interbreeding and overlap of populations in some areas, what we deal with in Saskatchewan for example is predominantly wild boar, a species adapted to living in Nordic countries and parts of Russia where they adapted to winter conditions similar to at least some parts of this country. Feral hogs, that is, escaped/released farm pigs may not have the same instincts/adaptations to survive our winters up here by themselves, so I'm not sure we would face the same issues with them specifically as we face with wild boars here.

All pigs are the same species, sus scrofa. Both survive Canadian winters just fine as long as they have enough food availability - something not in short supply in Canada.
 
All pigs are the same species, sus scrofa. Both survive Canadian winters just fine as long as they have enough food availability - something not in short supply in Canada.
Doing a little further research on the subject, I was curious why some authorities consider wild boars to be "hybridizing" with feral members of once domesticated populations if they are considered to be the same species, as I don't commonly hear that terminology used when animals of the same species are breeding with one another. It appears that some authorities consider the domesticated pig to be a subspecies of sus scrofa, and others its own distinct species, sus domesticus. So I suppose in the scientific community it's a bit split still, explains why I thought they were separate, and why some authorities describe them as being different. Personally, with the differences we as humans have made genetically modifying the wild boar through domestication I would fall on the separate species side, but it's probably a good debate on both sides. In the markets here in Saskatchewan at least there always seemed to be a distinction towards what you were raising from a farm economic side, as a moratorium was put in place last year on new "wild boar farms" in this province while to my knowledge no such moritorium was laid on domestic pig farms.

Food availability wise there is no doubt, they have an abundant supply of many sources in this country, both human created and native.
 
LOL...i guess we all know who the "all knowing" anti hunting Karen,google expert is on here,because we all know that the so-called expert and government agencies are always right,,let a species run wild and it will stop increasing,,LOL...sounds about right,for tin foil hat wearing anti-hunting libtwit,

The issue isn't with hunting them alone. The issue is the business hunting them has created in the US and how some states have clear instances of outfitters releasing pigs to maintain a huntable herd to profit from. I think limited hunting is completely fine, but the main effort should be trapping. Shooting a couple pigs out of a herd < catching the whole herd over night...

Not everything is a political, left Vs right, issue.
 
Subspecies would be a fine term. I wouldn't agree with it being a different species entirely, genetically they're the same thing, we've just bred them to exhibit certain characteristics.

Like dogs. They're still canis lupus, even though we've ####ed with em a lot 25k years is a drop in the bucket when it comes to genetics/speciation.
 
This has happened? Where and when?
R.
Lots of places, lots of times.


Strickland, a wildlife biologist and wildlife management specialist with Mississippi State University Extension, says illegal releases occur under the radar, but technology is revealing the physical proof of unrelated sounders stretching from Florida to California.

Still in the rudimentary stages of testing, genetic technology is documenting the unnatural spread of pigs, according to Strickland: “We’re beginning to see concrete proof of what we’ve believed for a long time. Populations don’t just spring up overnight in Midwest states like Illinois or Ohio.”

Wildlife biologist Bronson Strickland, left, and graduate student Clay Gibson with six wild pigs gps-collared for field research.



Natural colonization of wild pigs is a slow spread that resembles rose petal layering as adjacent populations overlap. “Scientifically, when a group of pigs has unique genetics, it tells me they shouldn’t be in that location unless illegal transport is involved,” he says.

Strickland has watched the wild pig population explode in Mississippi. In the 1980s, roughly 5% of Mississippi’s land area had wild pigs. As of 2017, at least 50% of Mississippi land has wild pigs with a sustained wild pig presence translating to a total population of over 200,000.

Who are the people physically trapping, transporting and releasing the pigs? Strickland points to a small group of outlaw hunters: “I’m not lumping anybody in because it’s a very small group engaging in illegal releases. These people want pigs in every county like we have deer in every county. It’s totally destructive.”

Yet, a few outlaws can ramp up an entire population of wild pigs. “They sneak pigs into a new area and those pigs quickly out-compete many of the native wildlife species we cherish,” he adds.

A few outlaws can ramp up an entire population of wild pigs. “They sneak pigs into a new area and those pigs quickly out-compete many of the native wildlife species we cherish,” Strickland says.


With no obvious signature, the outlaws typically move at night or use covered trailers. “Everyone should take this very seriously. If you see hogs on your property or trail camera, take action or risk an unmanageable situation. If you see anything suspicious regarding transport, call the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP) so they can investigate,” Strickland advises.

Facebook Smugglers

On March 29, 2017, MDWFP agents raided a location in Walthall County related to wild pig activity. A ring of four individuals was trapping wild pigs in Louisiana, transporting them to a holding pen in Mississippi, and brazenly selling them on Facebook, according to Major Lane Ball, south region administrator at MDWFP. With online convenience, buyers made contact and arrived with trailers to illegally transport wild pigs beyond Walthall County. It was an unusual incident involving social media and illegal transport, but it offered a clear window into the pace and underground nature of wild pig dispersal. (There have been other significant wild pig transport arrests in Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee.)
https://www.agweb.com/news/livestock/pork/pigs-dont-fly-feral-hog-spread-man-made-mess


This suggests that the observed movement resulted from human-mediated translocation.
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.1844


If you spend a few minutes actually looking for answers instead of assuming everyone else is wrong you might learn something.
 
On a farm, you will get 8 or 9 show up.

Shoot 2. The rest scatter. A few hours later, they return. Shoot 1 or 2 and the rest scatter. Over 3 days, you have killed them all.

Couple weeks or a month later, there are 4 or 6 back from somewhere else. Same process. Then its months before you see some again. In short, one quarter section had 12-15 pigs. I find the colder the weather the better. You can see the mist near the hay bales where their body heat is. They have a nose like a hockey puck and can burrow in very well.
 
You're not disagreeing with me. You're disagreeing with peer reviewed science. You are saying you know better than the people who actually study this stuff, because you saw a forest.

By all means, if you've got a study that shows it was actually hunting (and NOT habitat destruction) let's see it. Otherwise, you're doing the same thing everyone else is - ignoring science because of your feelings on the topic.

You FEEL like hunting should work, so #### all the evidence to the contrary. It's pathetic, and exactly how the Liberals treat gun bans.
Again, I'm disagreeing with a theory. "Peer reviewed science"? Seriously? After the last half decade you trot that out like it means something. I'm not ignoring it, I'm disagreeing with it, because it doesn't fit the facts presented. Peer reviewed. Jesus wept. SMH. - dan
 
Again, I'm disagreeing with a theory. "Peer reviewed science"? Seriously? After the last half decade you trot that out like it means something. I'm not ignoring it, I'm disagreeing with it, because it doesn't fit the facts presented. Peer reviewed. Jesus wept. SMH. - dan
Yes. Unlike you I haven't been brainwashed by the rich to think educated people are the enemy.
 
But none in Canada? You know, where it actually counts? Your whole argument is based on assumptions?
R.

Let's turn this around. How about you show me an example of a place in North America that has successfully controlled pigs with hunting.

If it's such an obvious option clearly there's good evidence to support it?
 
i am wondering were predators fit in the picture. bears cougars , wolves and coyotes i am sure would like some pork.

They'd eat them, but not in big enough numbers to really matter. Pigs mature fast and put out big litters. You need to kill 60-80% of the population yearly just to keep them in check.
 
Let's turn this around. How about you show me an example of a place in North America that has successfully controlled pigs with hunting.

If it's such an obvious option clearly there's good evidence to support it?
You have already see me say that hunting doesn’t work?
You can’t tell me why it conveniently works on private land, but no way in hell will it work on public land. Other than your assumption that the majority of hunters will want an invasive species on the landscape, and that they will load pigs up by the cattle hauler in order to do so.

In the midst of all of this and lost on you, is the public to private land ratio, particularly in Alberta.

Since you are so keen as to what is happening in other countries… it should be pointed out that the vast majority of hunting in the states with the worst pig problems are.. yup, on private land. It’s the land owners making the money from pig hunting. Not the Joe Public Land Hunter that you so despise.

The hunters that support the feral horse population in Alberta are few and far between. No matter how hard one looks, there doesn’t seem to be an instance of some nefarious hunter loading up horses to spread their population. There is little to no reason to believe this would be any different for pigs.
Is there?

How, exactly, does Joe Public Land Hunter make a single dime from a pig population? How does he even benefit from it?
The answer is he doesn’t.
Who has the potential to benefit the most?

R.
 
Last edited:
And by your measure, when did peer reviewed stop being meaningful?
When every useful idiot started claiming it proved things that it absolutely does not. I'm quite surprised a science guy like you isn't aware of those issues. I suggest you Google them, and have a serious think about that claim. - dan
 
I'll give it few years after they show up in destructive numbers in Ontario costing farmers a small fortune every year. I bet we see that "peer reviewed" stuff get flipped on it's arse pretty quick..

The peer reviewed stuff that suggests the extirpation of pigs from Norway 1000 years ago was due to habitat loss is going to be flipped on its head by some destruction in Ontario?...


I wouldn't be surprised if the policy changed at some point, clearly the pressure exists even if it's not scientifically backed. But I WILL be absolutely SHOCKED if Ontario manages to control the population with regular hunters while nowhere else seems to be able to.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom