The link has several photos, one appears to be an MD 500E.

https://www.stltoday.com/news/...ource=home-top-story

'We are being invaded by wild hogs': Feds shoot swine from chopper in southeast Missouri

JEFFERSON CITY • Feral hogs rule the night in parts of Missouri, with packs of 10 or more able to root through multiple acres of farmland in a single feeding frenzy. So this week in southeast Missouri, federal officials boarded a helicopter to wipe out as many as possible.

A team with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, or APHIS, shot and killed 103 feral hogs this week from the helicopter, according to the agency — 93 on federal wilderness land and 10 on private land, with owner permission.

The U.S. Forest Service closed trails in the 9,143-acre Bell Mountain Wilderness, in Iron County south of Potosi, and in the 4,293-acre Rockpile Mountain Wilderness, in Madison County south of Fredericktown, for several days this week so the agents could proceed.

Conservation agents primarily try to trap large “sounder” groups on the ground all at once. But, the so-called “aerial gunning activities” are used as a last resort for hard-to-catch hogs hiding in some of the state’s most rugged terrain. Agents often leave hogs shot in aerial operations on site to decompose, as they did in this case, according to APHIS.

This week’s haul will represent a small portion of the overall number of hogs killed this year by the Missouri Department of Conservation, other agencies and private landowners. Through September, conservation officials said the coalition had killed 7,339 hogs this year — 778 more than in 2017, according to the department.

Most of the state’s feral hog population is concentrated south of Interstate 44. But the problem seems to be most persistent in areas of southeast Missouri, including Iron County.

“The western part of the state has seen the most improvement at this point,” said Alan Leary, the state’s feral hog coordinator, adding he had no overall population estimates. “They still have some serious concerns, issues with hogs, down in the southeast part of the state. It’s got some pretty well-established populations.”

Iron County Presiding Commissioner Jim Scaggs, a Democrat, described the problem this way: “We are being invaded by wild hogs.” Scaggs grows hay for cattle feed on his 100-acre farm east of Annapolis. “My farm has been destroyed at least three different times. We replanted our crops, and they keep coming back.

“That doesn’t even make a dent in them,” Scaggs said of this week’s helicopter body count. He said a network of game cameras on his property captures 30 to 40 hogs on any given night, and he catches maybe six or eight in any given month. He can’t keep up with high reproductive rates. “They’re multiplying,” Scaggs said.

He said the hogs are “smart — they’re not easy to catch.” Scaggs said that because there are few human pressures on public lands, the hogs hide out there during the day before nosing onto private property at night.

“It almost seems like they know where to hide, and then they come out at night, especially if you live on property adjoining the national forest,” Scaggs said. “They’ll be out at night and they’ll be right on top of you.”

One farmer who lives near Bell Mountain, Scaggs said, patrols his land at night and shoots blanks to scare away the hogs.

The Missouri Department of Conservation said it did not participate in this week’s aerial operation. Despite touting the effectiveness of such raids, Leary said “we have not done one with an MDC helicopter in over a year.” An APHIS spokeswoman said that no MDC money is going toward the helicopter operations.

Leary said the lack of state flights is not due to political pressures, although at least one rural lawmaker has criticized the practice.

Brian Davidson, program manager for botany, invasive species and range land for the U.S. Forest Service, said the aerial operations can be effective, especially when leaves have fallen or there is snow on the ground.

Because the government has used radio collars to track some of the hogs, agents have a good idea of where large groups will be before a flight, he said.

“Under optimal conditions, they can be very effective,” Davidson said of the chopper operations. “Sometimes, they’re not.”

The operations are part of a multi-year strategy by state and federal wildlife officials to eradicate the hogs. The state and others are meticulously working to eliminate groups one by one, careful not to leave any hogs behind before moving to another area.

“This strategic approach is important because if we leave even a few feral hogs behind in an area, they can reproduce quickly and put us back where we started,” Mark McLain, another state feral hog official, said last month.

Other policies may seem counterintuitive: State officials in 2016 banned feral hog hunting on conservation lands, and strongly discourage shooting the hogs elsewhere. Commercial processing is illegal.

The state promotes a “report, don’t shoot,” strategy, encouraging landowners and hunters to hold their fire and report sightings to conservation agents, who theoretically will come in and trap the animals.

Leary said the bans on hunting and commercial processing act as a deterrent for anyone who would intentionally release wild hogs for hunting. He said hunting — and killing only one or two hogs — can scramble efforts to capture the entire group. There are also public health considerations, as feral hogs carry diseases that are not found in pork available in grocery stores.

“Unlimited take had been allowed statewide since hogs started becoming a problem in the mid-1990s,” Leary said. “There’s no question that the problems continued to get worse from the 1990s, till we passed that regulation. So, clearly hunting wasn’t solving the problem. We needed to do something different.”

But, some in the Legislature have criticized the hard line. State Rep. Robert Ross, R-Yukon, believes the government is not effectively partnering with serious hunters and landowners who could put a dent in the population.

“I guess one of the biggest issues I have with — whether we’re talking MDC or the Forest Service, both really — is kind of this government-knows-best mentality,” he said.

Ross said the conservation department has convinced the public that feral hog meat is dangerous, when, in fact, many people eat it.

“Pork is pork,” Ross said. “The reality is this: Whether we’re talking about pork that you get from the grocery store, or when you’re talking about pork from these wild hogs — it’s pork. Just like chicken. You got to cook it.”

Ross said it was “infuriating” agencies were leaving meat behind after hunts, and argues the helicopter operations are not cost-effective. Ross sponsored a budget amendment this past legislative session that would have put more money toward feral hog eradication. The amendment, however, required the department to dispose of carcasses and end aerial gunning.

(APHIS contends that leaving “carcasses in place or on site simulates natural death by allowing carcasses to remain in the ecosystem for scavenging and other natural processes.” It also costs the least amount of money.)

Last year, Rep. Jered Taylor, R-Nixa, introduced legislation to legalize processing of feral hogs.

“My goal is to allow more people to hunt feral hogs and then use the meat,” Taylor said then, adding that the pork could end up in food pantries.

Taylor said he had smoked feral hog ribs, and that they tasted “great.” (Some hunters note a gamey taste.) Still, his measure failed.

Scaggs deals with the problem himself the best he can. He said that he traps the hogs on his property, shoots them and attempts to butcher them.

“I know there’s a difference of opinion of how landowners are supposed to deal with these hogs,” Scaggs said, “but I don’t think there’s enough resources between the federal government and the state government to deal with the invasion that we’re encountering.”

quote:

One farmer who lives near Bell Mountain, Scaggs said, patrols his land at night and shoots blanks to scare away the hogs.

And what good does that do to solve the problem? He's just kicking the can down the road.

Wonder how much it cost them to shoot those 103 hogs from helicopter. Can't be cheap.

Would be interesting to see the breakdown of how many the coalition killed vs. other agencies vs. private landowners.

quote:

Other policies may seem counterintuitive: State officials in 2016 banned feral hog hunting on conservation lands, and strongly discourage shooting the hogs elsewhere. Commercial processing is illegal.

The state promotes a “report, don’t shoot,” strategy, encouraging landowners and hunters to hold their fire and report sightings to conservation agents, who theoretically will come in and trap the animals.

Just so much fail there. More proof that government causes more problems than they solve.

the local guys are probably already practicing the "Three S's"...

quote:

Just so much fail there. More proof that government causes more problems than they solve.

You'd be amazed how many assholes will actually cultivate feral hog populations without giving a damn about the destruction the hogs cause, just so the assholes can lease out hunting rights. One way or another, the hogs need to be eradicated without mercy.

The next screwball idea will be a relocation program.

EasyFire

Shoot, sausage, stuff (your face)?

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
the local guys are probably already practicing the "Three S's"...

Pretty good gig the fed guys have come up with there.

It’s been my experience that trapping is the only semi-efficient method of reducing the population of the creatures. I’ve sent 21 to their eternal reward this past 6 weeks.

This one had pretty poor oral hygiene:



No wonder my old dog doesn’t want to get out of the truck at the ranch. Here’s the yard at the cabin after the hogs worked on it overnight. Bastards.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: arfmel,

103 hogs? Nice.

They should put a Mk19 on the helicopter, though, if they're not concerned about anything but destroying them. Imagine what a few 40mm rounds could do to a big cluster of hogs.

Why would they shoot Vinnie Barbarino?

^^^
Tis the season to be funny.

A bounty and drop traps would be a hog’s worst nightmare. A satisfying link

Corral traps and drop traps are about the only way of effectively reducing the population, although the helicopter hunting may put a dent in them. Hunting them one at a time does nothing. We have shot many one and two at a time and they just come right back. You have to take 75% of the population out to break even on their numbers and to do that you have to trap the entire sounder.

There is some federal money coming through USDA to defray some of the cost for drop traps-they are expensive.

I have three farm made traps and have caught and killed 38 hogs since August. There are still plenty of them out there.

Some of the locals have said a few have worked their way up into our area but I have never seen any on my property nor have I ever seen any tracks so I doubt that a bit.

I wouldn't eat one but I know that a lot of folks do. I say open up a season on them (including conservation land) and maybe even a small bounty. Might make a difference.

2019 I think I’ll use some of my vacation to head to the US and do some helicopter hunting. Seems like a good time while fighting a good fight.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
the local guys are probably already practicing the "Three S's"...

It's been open season them in FL forever. Hunt 24-7-365. Trap'em, bait'em, snare'em, choot'em, spear'em. Doesn't matter.

The only thing illegal is transporting them alive ie, relocate.

The plant in our area did some good work hiring trappers who killed a slew of them. I have only seen 1 in a year plus, even on the game camera.

quote:

Originally posted by Bassamatic:
Some of the locals have said a few have worked their way up into our area but I have never seen any on my property nor have I ever seen any tracks so I doubt that a bit.

Oh, they'll make their presence known my friend. You won't see tracks, you'll see an acre of your property roto-tilled in an evening.

The area shown in afmel's photo above can be done by 3-8 hogs in 15-30 minutes when they get to rooting.

quote:

Originally posted by Surefire:
2019 I think I’ll use some of my vacation to head to the US and do some helicopter hunting. Seems like a good time while fighting a good fight.

You can do full auto here:

https://gunshiphelicopters.com/

They breed about twice a year and about 6 - 10 in a litter.