A&M working on contraceptive for feral hogs

[Greybeard]

May 19, 6:08 AM EDT

Texas researchers developing 'pill' for wild hogs

By MICHAEL GRACZYK
Associated Press Writer

GILMER, Texas (AP) -- Broad areas of grazing land at Pete Gipson's farm have plow-like scars. But it wasn't an out-of-control mechanical device that left disjointed ruts and holes.

Gipson and other ranchers and farmers in the South are tormented by herds of voracious feral hogs. The beasts, up to 3 feet tall and 400 pounds, devour feed intended for livestock and tear up pastures in their incessant search for food.

The hogs show little respect for such barriers as barbed wire fences, which merely serve as backscratchers for their hairy, leathery hides.

"They got in that yard a couple weeks ago and cultivated it," said Gipson, 67, as his pickup truck bounced across a once-smooth pasture at his 300-acre Red Cap Farms. "I smoothed it out and I'll be damned if they didn't come back the next night and cultivate it again."

In Texas, the wild pig population - now topping 2 million - is exploding thanks to high reproductive rates and few natural predators.

The Texas AgriLife Extension Service estimates the hogs cause $50 million in damage each year.

A solution to the pig problem might come from a lab at Texas A&M University, where a team of researchers is testing an oral contraceptive for the hogs and other pests. It may even become applicable for pets like cats and dogs.

The contraceptive, called a phosphodiesterase 3 inhibitor and in development for about a year and a half, is now in a capsule form and has been fed to captive pigs at the university's research facility. It prevents the females' eggs from maturing.

"It does appear to be effective," said Duane Kraemer, a professor of veterinary physiology and pharmacology who heads the research team.

"The animals can continue to cycle and breed. Their behaviors are the same, except they don't get pregnant."

Still, Kraemer cautions, the "development of an oral contraceptive for an animal that people eat and is to be released into the environment is a complex issue, no question about it."

The hogs are descendants of animals introduced more than 300 years ago by Spanish explorers, domestic hogs that have escaped over the years and survivors of Russian boars brought to Texas in the 1930s as exotic hunting game.

After generations of crossbreeding in the wild, the hogs have evolved into fierce survivors that typically travel in herds known as sounds.

The hogs have keen senses of smell and hearing and sharp, continuously growing tusks - two on top and two on the bottom - all the makings of imposing physical specimens.

Gipson said his son-in-law recently was inspecting some land on foot when he was confronted by several of the animals, which leave the shelter of creek bottoms to do their foraging after dark. Outweighed and outnumbered, his son-in-law climbed a tree to safety until they left, Gipson said.

"You might shoot one, but you'd have the rest of them on you," he said.

There is no closed season on hunting the pigs, and in Texas all you need is a regular hunting license. But it might take more than a shotgun to bring down a big hog.

"Just cleans the dirt off them," said Jake Williams, Gipson's farmhand.

Earlier this month, the Texas Department of Agriculture announced it had awarded the extension service $1 million to provide technical help to landowners under siege from the beasts.

"They eat most anything," Kraemer said. "One of the reasons there's concern is they eat eggs of birds that nest in the ground, little deer if they can catch them, sheep and goats. And, of course, they dig for grubs and worms and roots and in the process of doing so, they tear up crops, pastures and make such a mess you can hardly drive on these pastures. It's just terrible."

He estimates it could be three to five years before the birth-control pill for pigs is readily available. The next step in the research is to test the contraceptive outside the lab.

Among hurdles yet to be overcome are how to ensure that the drug is administered only to wild hogs and won't cause any environmental damage.

"It's got to be effective, it's got to be specific, it's got to be acceptable to meat consumed by humans," Kraemer said. "And it's got to be environmentally safe."

[HighVelocity]

"birth control" for feral hogs is already available over the counter at a variety of local stores.

[lrb111]

With the cost of food going up, hunting is beginning to look economically feasible, again. What sort of caliber do folks use on hogs?

[flintknapper]

"birth control" for feral hogs is already available over the counter at a variety of local stores.

Yup,


Thats we use here!

[WildBill]

I wonder if they will need a prescription to get it?

[propellerhead]

It will make them gain weight.

[Tactical_Texan_CHL]

lrb111, I like my AR in .223 and use that most often. You have to be more careful with shot placement, but .223 will do the trick. I also like to use my .30-06. I like lighter 150gr bullets, the Hornady 150gr SST is my favorite. Very accurate through my Ruger M77. 180gr bullets waste an awful lot of meat in my opinion. However, it DOES pack quite a thump! Some of the others I hunt with fairly often use .308, .243, .270, and a friends dad uses a really nice Marlin guide gun in .45-70. It does really well with the new Hornady LeveRevolution ammo.

Hogs are alot of fun to hunt. It's a hunting trip different from any other. You can walk them up, but be careful, they will charge, and are mean buggers! You can also call them like coyotes, although I've never had any luck with that. They'll root around a deer feeder, so you can hunt them from a blind too. There are tons of ways to hunt them. They're very inteligent animals and can be a real challenge. It's a good time.

I have one aquaintance who SWEARS by his own handloaded super hot 7mm Mag for anything and everything. He says he has his load dialed in perfectly. It's super accurate, and hits so hard that it knocked a deer up in the air, spun it backwards, and folded it in half when it landed. Funny, I've never actually seen it do this. The one and only time I went hog hunting with him, I watched him go through 2 FULL 20 round plastic boxes of ammo on a single hunting trip with a bolt action rifle and not come back with a single animal! He hasn't been invited back.

[flintknapper]

Edited:


Just in case "someone" might be offended by dead animals.

[Tactical_Texan_CHL]

Nice pics, Flint! Hmm. We may have to start a wild game recipe thread in the off topic section soon..........

[melkor41]

If anyone wants an extra gun on hand for hunting these let me know. I would love to go but never have and would like to learn the ropes.

[bpet]

I typically dip my 25WSM bullets in a slurry made up of 1 part water (stagnant) and 5 parts crushed birth control pills prior to going hog hunting. I find it to be very effective in stopping the reproduction cycle of feral hogs but have yet to see a penny in grants from the great state of Texas for my work. I wonder if they lost my petition? Even a small part of that $1M would go a long way to make my efforts at controlling the feral hog population more enjoyable.

[Venus Pax]

So how do you get the hog to take the pill? How would you monitor that the hog is taking the pill regularly?

[WildBill]

So how do you get the hog to take the pill? How would you monitor that the hog is taking the pill regularly?

You put it on the nightstand next to their bed as a reminder to take it every night.

[anygunanywhere]

So how do you get the hog to take the pill? How would you monitor that the hog is taking the pill regularly?

Hogs will eat anything, literally, dead or alive. Deer, fawns, snakes, rabbits, quail eggs. Most folks thing they are herbivores, but they need lots of protein to raise two or three litters each year.

Easy to bait and give the pill to.

I would expect the Aggies will figure out how to monitor the dose. Maybe take their temperature and see if they ovulate.



Anygunanywhere

[lrb111]

Thanks, TacTex
I was thinking about knock down vs meat damage. G.A.Heath on the forum sold me his 7.62x39 hog gun. Course I don't know what size animals, distances or environment he was using the gun in. Odd as it may sound I have favored a slug gun or bow when i hunted years ago. Thinkjing about returning to hunting raises questions.
Thanks.