What can be done about wild boar?

There is both an opportunity and a need to increase recreational hog hunting opportunities on both public and private land. Despite the problems hogs cause for wildlife, habitats and people, they also provide recreational hunting opportunities. There is already much hog hunting being done, in many states, hunting is in fact the major reason hogs are released into the wild.
Other control measures include trapping and removal, at fencing to exclude hogs from critical areas: however, both these methods are time-consuming and expensive, and neither provides foolproof control.

Arkansas has very few regulations on hunting wild (feral) hogs.

Feral "Wild" Hog Hunting Season

Wildlife Management Areas:Any open daytime hunting seasons or special deer, elk or turkey permit hunts. hunters may use the weapons allowed for that season or hunt. During special permit hunts, only permit holders may shoot or possess feral hogs. There is no bag limit, but shooters must have a hunting license and may not pursue hogs at night. Feral hogs may not be taken on WMAs with the use of dogs, bait or traps. Dead feral hogs may be removed from the WMA or left where they were shot.

Other Public Land :Open Hunting Seasons Subject to methods allowed for hunting season.

Private Land: All Year 365 day or night With owner's permission.

Where i live in south west Arkansas we just call the sheriff and let them

know where will be hunting in case somebody calls us into the game warden

for spotlighting. They rarely even come by and never hassle us.

Wild boar cause problems and serious damage.

Damage caused by wild hogs has been reportedin many states. Crops commonly damaged by feral hogs include rice, sorghum, wheat,corn, soybeans, peanuts, potatoes, watermelon and
cantaloupe. One of the most common types of damage to these crops occurs when the hogs root in the fields. Hogs not only consume, but also trample the crops.
Hog predation on livestock is a serious problem in some states. Wild hogs kill and consume
lambs and kid goats, especially during lambing andkidding seasons. Physical evidence of hog predation may be hard to detect because the entire animal may be consumed. Ewes and nannies with swollen udders but no nursing lambs or kids may bean indication of hog predation. Hog tracks and droppings may aid in identifying the predator. If hog predation occurs when kids and lambs are larger, the entire carcass may be turned inside out, leaving the hide with little or no flesh except on the head, neck and hooves.

With hogs, the problems are numerous.
Habitat destruction : Wild hogs are rooters and wallowers, and their feeding and wallowing activities destroy terrestrial and aquatic vegetation, ruin water holes used by other wildlife, and contribute to erosion and siltation, which can adversely affect water quality.

Ground nesting bird predation:

Hogs are omnivores and eat anything that gets in their way. This includes nests of ground nesting birds, such as turkeys, quail, terns, and many other birds.

Damage to endangered or sensitive plant/animal communities:

Many sensitive habitats are small and fragile, such as the unique acid seeps in portions of the Ouachita mountains and the cedar glades in the Ozarks. These places are attractive to Wild hogs, and they cause major, sometime irreparable, damage.

Disease transmission to domestic livestock and pets:

wild hogs carry brucellosis, which has been documented to have been transmitted from wild hogs to domestic stock, pseudorabies, which causes domestic pigs to abort, and other diseases. These problems can result in direct economic loss and indirect loss through quarantines.

Disease transmission to humans:

There have been cases documented in Arkansas of Wild hogs transmitting diseases such as brucellosis and trichinosis to humans, either directly or indirectly.

Direct food competition with native wildlife:

One of the mainstays for many wildlife species is acorns. Deer, squirrels, ducks, turkeys, birds, bears and many other species depend on acorns for a significant part of their diet. Hogs also love acorns, and are very efficient at finding them (in the process, incidentally, tearing up wildlife habitat).

Crop depredation:

A hog in a cornfield is every bit as, destructive as a hog in a woodlot. Hogs often cause heavy damage to row crops; gardens, flower beds, pine plantations, orchards, tree farms and pastures.

What is a Wild Boar ?

The wild boar (Sus scrofa), or simply called a boar, wild hog, razorback, feral pig or one of many expletives is an omnivorus, gregarious mammal of the biological family Suidae. It is native across much of Central Europe, the Mediterranean Region (including North Africa's Atlas Mountains) and much of Asia as far south as Indonesia, and has been introduced nearly everywhere else. It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig. Although common in France, the wild boar became extinct in Great Britain and Ireland by the 17th century, but wild breeding populations have recently returned in some areas, following escapes from boar farms.

Physical characteristics

The body of the wild boar is compact; the head is large, the legs relatively short. The fur consists of stiff bristles and usually finer fur. The colour usually varies from dark grey to black or brown, but there are great regional differences in colour; even whitish animals are known from central Asia . During winter the fur is much denser. Adult boars average 3.5 to 6 ft in length and have a shoulder height of approx. 3 ft. As a whole, their average weight is 140–200 pounds, though boars show a great deal of weight variation within their geographical ranges.

The continuously growing tusk (the canine teeth) serve as weapons and tools. The lower tusks of an adult male measure about 8 inches (from which seldom more than 4 inches protrude out of the mouth), in exceptional cases even 12 in. The upper tusks are bent upwards in males, and are regularly ground against the lower ones to produce sharp edges. In females they are smaller, and the upper tusks are only slightly bent upwards in older individuals.
Wild boar piglets are coloured differently from adults, being a soft brown with longitudinal darker stripes. The stripes fade by the time the piglet is about half-grown, when the animal takes on the adult's grizzled grey or brown colour.
Litter size of wild boars may vary depending on their location.

Wild boars live in groups called sounders. Sounders typically contain around 20 animals, but groups of over 50 have been seen. In a normal sounder there are two or three sows and their offspring; adult males are not part of the sounder outside of a breeding cycle, two to three per year, and are usually found alone. Birth, called farrowing, usually occurs in a secluded area away from the sounder; a litter will typically contain 8–12 piglets. The animals are usually nocturnal, roaming looking for food from sundown to sun-up but with resting periods during both night and day. They will eat anything that does not eat them first including grass, nuts, berries, roots, tubers, trash, insects, small reptiles—even young deer and lambs. If surprised or cornered, a boar (and particularly a sow with her piglets) can and will defend itself and its young with intense vigor. The male lowers its head, charges, and then slashes upward with his tusks. The female, whose tusks are not visible, charges with her head up, mouth wide, and bites. Such attacks are not often fatal to humans, but may result in severe trauma, dismemberment, or blood loss.

Wild boars or feral pigs in the United States.

Domestic pigs quite readily become feral, and feral populations often revert to a similar appearance to wild boar; they can then be difficult to distinguish from natural or introduced true wild boar (with which they also readily interbreed). The characterization of populations as feral pig, escaped domestic pig or wild boar is usually decided by where the animals are encountered and what is known of their history. One characteristic by which domestic and feral animals are differentiated is their coats. Feral animals almost always have thick, bristly coats ranging in colour from brown through grey to black. A prominent ridge of hair matching the spine is also common, giving rise to the name razorback in the southern United States, where they are common. The tail is usually long and straight. Feral animals tend also to have longer legs than domestic breeds and a longer and narrower head and snout.

A very large swine dubbed Hogzilla was shot in Georgia in June 2004.Initially thought to be a hoax, the story became something of an internet sensation. National Geographic Explorer investigated the story, sending scientists into the field. After exhuming the animal and performing DNA testing, it was determined that Hogzilla was a hybrid of wild boar and domestic swine.
At the beginning of the 20th century, wild boar were introduced for hunting in the United States ,where they interbred in parts with free roaming domestic pigs.The first true Pigs were brought to the United States by Hernando de Sota to the Atlantic Coast of Florida in 1539.
The First "Pure Russian" wild boars were brought into the US by Austin Corbin. They were released into a 20,000 acre enclosure in Sullivan County New Hampshire in 1890.

SOME FAST FACTS AS OF 2006:

STATES WITH FERAL HOGS: 39, plus 4 Canadian provinces.

TEXAS COUNTIES with Feral Hogs, 225 out of 254 counties.

HOG POULATION IN TEXAS; 2,000,000 (MILLION)+!

NATIONAL POPULATION is estimated at around 4,000,000.

ESTIMATED ANNUAL AGG DAMAGE from feral swine $52 MILLION!

LANDOWNER ANNUAL EXPENSE to control feral swine $7 MILLION

NATURAL LIFE EXPECTANCY OF A FERAL SWINE IS 6 to 8 years.

AVERAGE SIZE of feral swine is 100 to 150 pounds, but depending on the region can obtain sizes in excess of 600 lbs.

REPRODUCTION OF FERAL SWINE: Once a sow reaches breeding age at 7 or 8 months of age they can be responsible for 1,000 plus feral swine in a 5 year period.