They call themselves “grunter hunters“, but the small army of Australians who spend their weekends stalking wild pigs through the bush are finding themselves increasingly outnumbered.
Their high-powered rifles, hunting dogs and “pig rigs” – specially equipped trucks – are proving no match for an explosion in the number of feral pigs roaming the country’s forests, mountains and savannah plains.
Official estimates suggest there are now 23 million feral pigs in Australia, outnumbering the continent’s human population of 21 million.
And perhaps the worst news is that their meat cannot be eaten, due to worm infestation and disease.
Wayne Thomas, of Queensland Canegrowers, said eradication is all but impossible. “They’re entrenched in very wild country. It’s all thanks to Captain Cook. Letting them loose was not the smartest thing he ever did.”
Australia really seems to have received more than a fair share of visitors who didn’t have an environmental clue.
LIKE,
OK, They made a BIG mistake long ago.. I wont mention the ones of the last century.
But the Meat cant be eaten?? Thats amazing.
Maybe they can launch in the wild a genetically modified farm pig, programmed to resist those infections…Maybe they could cross species.
Just see the potential: Wild Hogzilla Safaris and Crazy Luaus every night…
Make biodiesel out them.
Oops… missed “of”… but you get it… 😉 piggy fuel…
Okay, here’s an opportunity for someone who is financially savvy they to the obvious solution to the problem and can make a (ahem) killing off it. I can see how it could be done if the article is accurate.
“Two years ago ex-soldier Paul Smith set up Boar Busters, a professional pig trapping business run with military discipline.” Good for him but that is a puny idea compared to what could be done.
It would be no problem to corral them into pens, feed them anti-worm medicine and bring their health up to edible condition.
“no problem to corral them into pens”
You really have no grasp of the situation. They are not in terrain that you can round up anything. I mean, you don’t even need to have gone shooting in the areas they are talking about (as i have) to grasp that. The article has hunters saying its hard. And they are only trying to shoot the buggers, not round them up. What makes you think it would be easier to round up a pig in dense bushland than to shoot them from a distance?? IQ test failed there mate..
#6, Read the article mate, and I advise you not to pretend you know something when you don’t have a clue.
Farmers are being driven close to financial ruin by the depredations of pigs, which congregate in large herds and can charge through electric fences. The animals are estimated to cost agriculture more than £40 million a year.
Animals that congregate in large herds can be corralled with a little ingenuity.
And I thought the Titile meant half drunken fat American tourists messing up the landscape (too much Simpsons.)
#7
Pigs are the smartest farm animals and when they go feral you’re going to get into a lot of trouble.
#8, and your point?
Here in NZ we have a similar problem with them, farmers pay hunters to eradicate them, but in a year they come back. The problem is made worse by recreational shooters who deliberately release them in areas cleared by farmers, for sport. We also have problems with wild cattle, deer, opossum, cats, dogs, goats. Most escaped from farms, some released as unwanted pets.
#7 It would be interesting to see someone try to corral a 150kg wild boar with 6 inch tusks and a hostile attitude. The things are hard enough to see in the bush, let alone shoot.
Assuming they could be corralled, what would stop the remaining free pigs from breeding and quickly replenishing the feral population? As the article says, they can have up to 20 offspring a year. Were you proposing to corral every single individual?
Perhaps once you get done with the pigs, you can help us solve the feral cat problem, the cane toads, the camels and goats, the crown of thorns starfish…
Alphgeek, With your pessimism and apparent lack of problem solving abilities, obviously your not the savvy opportunist and businessman that can handle the situation.
Before I get more irate Ausie posts, first tell me if the article featured on this thread is accurate when they say…
“Farmers are being driven close to financial ruin by the depredations of pigs, which congregate in large herds and can charge through electric fences. The animals are estimated to cost agriculture more than £40 million a year.”
Then read my original post #5 where I said
…”I can see how it could be done if the article is accurate.”
Now, if you can understand those two simple statements, you’ll see that I’m NOT contemplating rounding up pigs in the bush.
“Australia really seems to have received more than a fair share of visitors who didn’t have an environmental clue.”
Not to mention some from this century, that make movies and Tv shows there. Because they face few if any environmental hassles. At one time I dreamed about living in NZ (even before seeing LotR), because it was fairly unscrewed up by US politics and industry. But it’s only a matter of time before they manage to spoil it too. Please NZ, keep the blight of western money from trashing your paradise.
The solution to this problem is simple. All they have to do is assign the local Natural Resources Department to “manage” the animals and poof! They’ll all be dead in no time.
#15, LOL.
#9
“#8, and your point?”
These are not easy to kill vermin, for one they have these razor sharp tusk and they’re not affraid of using it.
??, Angel, once they are captured, slaughtering them is easy. Bang.
All that pig meat might get a little boaring after a while.