Hog Invasion a Problem Across Texas

One of the most destructive forces to American ranches and farms has become the feral hog, an invasive species that is growing in numbers faster than can be controlled.

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), there was an estimated population of 2.4 million feral hogs in Texas in 2016. In the United States, there are reportedly 6.9 million hogs over 40 states, all causing more than $400 million dollars in damages annually.

The hogs have been classified as one of the top 100 worst invasive species in the world. Pigs cause damage through rooting to direct consumption of plant or animal materials, according to the TPWD.

“Hogs are very destructive,” Gillespie County Game Warden Tommy Johnson said. “It’s not a matter of if you have hogs, it’s a matter of when. It’s a never-ending battle. Hogs have become such a problem that Texas does not require a license to hunt them.”

According to the TPWD, the most common methods of control in the U.S. are trapping, ground shooting and aerial gunning. Hogs can be hunted on private property without a hunting license thanks to Senate Bill 317, which was passed in May of 2019.

With the growing concerns over the control of the hog population and a need to rid their properties of the species, ranches across the southern portion of the United States began offering hog hunting trips.

A wild boar picks a fight with a cow to decide who gets the corn under a deer feeder on a Gillespie County ranch. Feral hogs are a top-100 invasive species on the planet. - Submitted photo

These trips range from a traditional hunt to helicopter hunting. Some ranches, including the Headwaters Ranch in Fredericksburg, began offering hog hunts complimentary to their other trophy hunts.

A few of the ranches in Gillespie County that offer hog hunts include Droptine Ranch, Masser Ranch, HeliHogHunt, Hog Hollow Ranch and Independence Ranch.

For more information on hogs in Texas, go to https://tpwd.texas.gov/ huntwild/wild/nuisance/feral_hogs/.