This is an open letter to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and the subject is the proliferation of feral hogs in Arkansas. In my opinion, these animals that are reproducing at almost unbelievable rates are the greatest threat to native wildlife and wildlife habitat in our lifetime, and we are doing very little to solve the problem. No, it is not just a few wild hogs rooting up someone’s back yard. It is literally millions of feral hogs decimating both wildlife habit and contributing to the ever decreasing quail and turkey population in our state. Feral hogs are quail and turkey egg eating animals that roam the woods, and they are finding most of those nests and eating the eggs.
I live on thirty-seven acres with a couple of small ponds surrounded by mixed timber and open grassy areas—excellent quail habitat, and up until about 15 years ago, I had a large covey of quail on the property. When I first built my house in the mid-1970s the covey was somewhere between 15 and 20 birds and seeming very stable. I didn’t allow hunting since we were in the city limits. Over the next fifteen years, I began to notice the covey becoming smaller and smaller until about ten years ago I heard the last bob-white call—and there was no answer. What happened to my quail? I believe feral hogs were a primary contributing factor in the disappearance of my quail.
Let’s consider the size of the feral hog problem: Conservative estimates of the feral hog population in Arkansas puts the number at over two million, and that’s growing daily. A mature sow will have three litters a year, usually 6 to 10 piglets, which mature into breeding stock in less than a year, and since we have killed off most of the natural predators, most of those litters reach maturity. You don’t have to do Calculus to get an understanding of the problem. It is huge and it will require drastic measure to solve it. However, our Game and Fish Commission is fiddling while the expanding feral hog population soars. Around 1000 feral hogs have been added to the feral hog population in Arkansas while I’m writing this column. In order to just stay even with the expanding population at least a half million feral hogs will have to be taken out of our ecosystem—-each year! We are not even scratching the surface of the problem.
Our Game and Fish Commission needs to think outside the box if they are to solve the problem. Evidently, they need some suggestions so here goes: First, let’s reach back to the 18th Century for part of the solution. Put a bounty on feral hogs. Well, we managed to kill off a healthy wolf population by putting a bounty on them, so why not do this: A $5.00 bounty for every feral hog tail submitted to local game warden. If you consider the destruction of wildlife and wildlife habitat one feral hog inflicts each year, that $5.00 to remove a hog is a tremendous bargain for the state.
That is step one. Step two is to restore the natural predators of feral hogs. We are the ones who have put nature out of balance by killing off essentially all the natural predators that would keep the feral hogs population under control. Along with the bounty, the second part of the solution is to reduce the number of feral hog is by rewilding Arkansas. Rewilding, which is rapidly gaining acceptance in Europe, is a reintroduction of species that were once abundant in an area. In Arkansas it means to restock the feral hog predators we have killed off, and stop the killing of the few existing predators that are still here. That, along with a bounty, is the only way to reduce the number of feral hogs. It’s that simple. We must reintroduce as many as 150 mountain lions and several 100 wolves into the State, and close the bear season. Those predators will thrive and multiply because of the abundant food, and they will reduce the feral hogs that are destroying habitat along with quail and turkey nests. With the small number of bears we have in the state, it borders on stupidity to even have a bear season. In addition, we should stop the killing of other predators such as coyotes and bobcats. No, little Jonnie is not going to be gobbled up by a mountain lion or wolf. According to statistics, he would be in more danger from being stuck by a meteorite.
If we don’t do something drastic about the feral hog population, you will see the problem continue to grow and become more and more difficult to control. A bounty and the re-introduction of predators into the ecosystem is the only way to counter this wildlife crisis.
Richard H. Mason of El Dorado is a syndicated columnist and author and former president of the Arkansas Wildlife Federation and the state Pollution Control & Ecology Commission. He may be reached by email at [email protected].