feral hog eratication in Texas outa of helicopters want your thoughts!

[huntingfreak_09]

i want your thoughts on if feral hog eratication in texas is ethicle out of helicopters? i was haveing a converstaion with my dad and he dissagrees with me he thinks its unethicle i think its fine. its a huge problem in the south and causes millions of dollars in crop and land damage and they are taking over and destroying everything. so i just want your thoghts on if you think its ethicle to hunt them out of helicopters and say weather or not if you yourself would go to texas and hunt hogs out of helicopters. say whatever is on your mind about it i want all of your thoughts.

[MTCOMMER]

I never knew that they hunted them from helicopters, im intrigued now!

I think its perfectly fine, as you said, they ruin and dig up everything.  I would personally like to go down and hunt them from foot (but I wouldnt mind out of a helicopter either, I think it would be a thrill to shoot a pack of them with a machine gun - which that probably isnt how they do it)
They are a big problem in the south, so get rid of them.   

[huntingfreak_09]

they actualy use AR-15's and such to handle them out of the helicopters so thats preaty close to a machine gun and thanks for your post let others know!

[MTCOMMER]

So I youtubed it, that looks fun!  At 1:30 he shoots one - 
I think that would be pretty exciting - just dont want to crash the helicopter!

[Dan R.]

are they looking for volunteer's   

[HD]

I am planning a trip to go hog hunting...just not out of a chopper...

Just don't seem right to me. 

[Mayfly]

Well... They gotta get rid of them. If its legal than shoot away!

As for me... the only way I would do it is if they had those machine guns that came out underneath the chopper... like in the video games ya know!? That'd be sweet! 

[FireRanger]

Hmmmm...Well, we know what happens when a foreign species is introduced in an area. In my opinion, I would use whatever means to stop the spread. Look at what we're dealing with, with asian carp. We live in the land of ten thousand lakes, our fisheries are everything to us up here. Down south, deer and so on are everything to them. As far as doing it by helicopter, I spent 8 years flying around in them either inside or out.....it's not an easy thing to steady anything while riding in. I think there is probably a less dangerous and more effective way of killing hogs. I'm sure the allure of doing it by air is intriguing, but you wouldn't catch me risking my life to get a thrill by hanging outside a chopper while firing an automatic weapon. Just sayin'.  

[nontypicalhunter]

I think it's perfectly fine, actually sounds like fun.   

[corny13]

When I was a kid growing up in Grand Forks there were a couple of guys from the USAF base that would do that on Red Fox in the valley.  They were shooting Red Fox  out of a copter next to the KTHI tv tower by Mayville when they hit a guidewire on the worlds tallest tv tower....bad outcome  killed both the pilot and shooter and knocked the tower down..

[huntingfreak_09]

ok i asked if it was ethical now do u think its fair chase to hunt hogs out of helicopters!?

[HD]

ok i asked if it was ethical now do u think its fair chase to hunt hogs out of helicopters!?

JMO........I don't think it's either ethical or fair chase.       

[kenhuntin]

I believe it is both ethical and fair chase unless the meat is left to rot. Them big boars could at least be dog food. I way prefer taking them from choppers as opposed to poison.

[FireRanger]

I'll play devil's advocate here for a minute. I can see it not being ethical or fair chase and that sort of thing.....but would you agree with putting nets up on the river's flowing in or out of Superior to stop the spread of asian carp? This wouldn't be fair or ethical but it is a way to stop a disaster from occurring. If the wolf population here in MN was 10x worse and the deer were suffering to the point where you couldn't get a tag for a few years, how would you recommend a fair and ethical way to lower the wolf population? Again, I'm just throwing out bones here...devil's advocate sort of thing. I think the problem down south is one that is very important and people are stead fast in their opinion about extinguishing them. I think this is something that we should pay attention to. The feral hog population is increasing across the country and we know that WI has a population that is growing slowly. What will we do if ten years from now we are dealing with hogs destroying our hunting grounds/populations? Something to think about. I personally don't think there is a fair and ethical way to rid an area of a population. You do what you have to do to deal with the problem, fair or unfair, ethical or unethical. Some say let nature take it's course, but in many cases....we are to blame for the problems we are encountering. My 20 cents...
 
Good discussion! Let's see where it leads.

[Mayfly]

I know some people down there and have seen what these beasts do! We think coyotes are bad?? I don't think there is a such thing as "ethical" when trying to eradicate a pest.

Are sticky mouse traps ethical??

[deadeye]

I'm on the let em have it side.  Texas is a big, wide open area and it would be really hard to put a dent in the hog population on foot.  Maybe we can send them some of our cougars.  Oh, I didn't say that did I?   

[HD]

Why not put a bounty on them, and use the meat to fill the food shelves?
Or have a state wide, open to the country, hog hunt?

[FireRanger]

Why not put a bounty on them, and use the meat to fill the food shelves?
Or have a state wide, open to the country, hog hunt?

Fantastic ideas!! I couldn't agree with you more. Whatever way you decide to get rid of them, I'm never of the opinion of wasting the game..EVER. Give it to the hungry. Whether it's hog, venison or carp. If my wife would let me I'd go down and bring up a freezer full!

[HUNTER2]

It must not bother the farmers a real lot. I know some guys that go down there to hunt them and the farmers charge for hunting them. If they were damaging there crops don't you think they would pay to get rid of them, instead of charging to get rid of them? I don't think it is right to use helicopters either. Next you will let people shoot the deer out of them and where does it go from there. Only the rich can afford to do that anyway.

[BiggA]

It must not bother the farmers a real lot. I know some guys that go down there to hunt them and the farmers charge for hunting them. If they were damaging there crops don't you think they would pay to get rid of them, instead of charging to get rid of them? I don't think it is right to use helicopters either. Next you will let people shoot the deer out of them and where does it go from there. Only the rich can afford to do that anyway.

ALmost my thoughts exactly. It started as a huge problem come kill feral hogs was the word spread everywhere. Now though still a problem it is turning into a way to make money.

[FireRanger]

Agreed...it was only going to be a matter of time before someone would try to make a buck off it. If people are willing to pay the price then people will charge it! Almighty dollar!

[beeker]

the discovery channel had a documentary on hogs not that long ago.. talked about their breeding habits and the destructive nature of the beast. the documentary gave an interesting perspective and a brief history lesson.

it's already been said but it's all driven by the dollar.

[22lex]

The key word is FERAL. You can't really use fair/and ethical in the same sentence when talking about the extermination of a species not native to an area that causes millions of dollars of damage each year. Hell, the guys down there run 'em with dogs and kill them with sharpened spears with dogs hanging on to them......is that more ethical then cutting them in two with an AR15 out of a helicopter? Not a chance, but who cares because the state of texas/farmers would probably let you run them over with your golf cart if they could charge you for it.

I am sure the farmers down in Texas are double-dipping when the hogs tear up their crops as well. They collect from the state/government, and charge us hunters in the process.

Started as a problem, ended up a small-time money maker for them.

[Fawkinnae]

The key word is FERAL. You can't really use fair/and ethical in the same sentence when talking about the extermination of a species not native to an area that causes millions of dollars of damage each year. Hell, the guys down there run 'em with dogs and kill them with sharpened spears with dogs hanging on to them......is that more ethical then cutting them in two with an AR15 out of a helicopter? Not a chance, but who cares because the state of texas/farmers would probably let you run them over with your golf cart if they could charge you for it.

I am sure the farmers down in Texas are double-dipping when the hogs tear up their crops as well. They collect from the state/government, and charge us hunters in the process.

Started as a problem, ended up a small-time money maker for them.

Well said 22Lex. Golf Cart Pig Polo sounds like a blast.

[MTCOMMER]

Well said 22Lex. Golf Cart Pig Polo sounds like a blast.

I think you might be on to something Doug - lets get some up here in a nice fenced area and play a friendly game.
I think the only reason the farmers charge - is because they can, people just like to hunt stuff, but its not an outrageous amount of money and they also taste pretty good (Im sure).  If was down there I would be killing a few each week to have some fresh bacon, or chops, or whatever.

This is a great topic, I enjoyed reading it and seeing everyones views!   

In a nutshell, they will always be a problem, you cannot get rid of them, so hunt them, utilize them, make some money on them - what do I care.  But if you kill them, dont let them rot, use it for meat (as I think HD said), the foodshelves can use them like our deer donation service here in MN.

[huntingfreak_09]

i love all the feedback keep it coming! this is a great topic im glad i chose to post it me n my dad are still debating back and forth so your thoughts help its now more than me and my dad in this its everyone and its a good debate so keep up the coments say anything you want makes it real and true! thanks everyone

[Mayfly]

i love all the feedback keep it coming! this is a great topic im glad i chose to post it me n my dad are still debating back and forth so your thoughts help its now more than me and my dad in this its everyone and its a good debate so keep up the coments say anything you want makes it real and true! thanks everyone

So lets hear what your Dad has to say.... Lets hear his argument.

[HUNTER2]

From what I hear you can't eat the boars. I think they just dig a hole for them.

[Go Big Red!]

From what I hear you can't eat the boars. I think they just dig a hole for them.

I disagree.  The picture below is a your boar, 1" tusks, from a 2007 hunt in West Texas.  Tasted great!

[HUNTER2]

The guys I know that go down there say they are bad to eat.