NANCY, Ky. — Numbers of wild hogs are increasing in Kentucky and the untamed porkers have become a major aggravation for farmers.
“I saw six last Sunday morning,” said Eugene Harness, who is a cattle farmer.
He trapped four wild hogs last spring, and, under supervision of a conservation officer, killed and cleaned the animals.
“You’re not allowed to turn them loose,” said Harness. “You have to kill them ...”
A couple of factors have led to a growing wild hog population – natural breeding and recreational hunting.
Chad Soard, wildlife biologist for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, said wild hogs often are transported illegally into an area for hunting. He said an open or year-round season on the animals gives hunters something to hunt when other seasons are closed.
“Pig hunting as a sport has really taken off,” Soard said. “They come in any color or body shape. Once a pig is out of a pen it becomes a wild hog.”
Originally, there were three different kinds –– a true domestic pig; a feral pig which is a domestic pig gone wild; and the Eurasian boar, imported from Europe and Asia, is a true wild boar, Soard said. Now, the different breeds have interbred into a hybrid.
For safety reasons, the hogs cannot be shot after dark. Farmers said that makes them difficult to kill because they are hard to spot during daylight hours.
Soard said the animals, who often run in packs, can be dangerous.
They’re also a major problem for farmers because the wild animals eat their crops. “They are like a vacuum cleaner in the forest, eating mast in the fall that would be food for squirrels, deer and turkeys,” he said.
