The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks took the first steps to legalize the trapping of feral hogs on some of its wildlife management areas when the Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks approved the concept at its May meeting.
Wild pigs continue to be a growing problem in many areas of Mississippi, despite an increased effort — mandatory at some clubs — to eradicate the nuisance beasts.
As they say in hunting, once the shooting stops, the fun ends and the work begins. If you’ve ever field-dressed a deer, you’ll have a rough estimation of how to do a hog, but there are a few key differences in quartering a pig for the processor.
New-school hog hunting
Wade Seago’s pet Schnauzer, Cruiser, is nothing if not brave.
Mississippi’s court system will soon have a chance to show if it’s as serious as the state’s wildlife agency about the wild pig threat when cases reach court involving four people charged recently in an illegal hog operation in Walthall County.
The green field was lush, the sun was bright and already several does had entered the patch where the sun had melted the frost.
The deer hunt was shaping up nicely.
For hog hunters wanting to preserve a memorable hog hunt, without the expense of a taxidermy bill, try this at-home method for mounting the skull:
Still hunting for hogs is done in nearly identical technique as for deer. Hogs are more active during early morning and late evening hours as they have a lower tolerance for heat. Hunters who invest in night vision and/or thermal imaging optics also have tremendous success hunting at night.
According to Administrative Code Title 40, Part 2, Rule 7.1, “Wild hogs are hereby defined as any feral hog, wild swine, Russian boar or any pig that is not a domesticated pet or livestock, or has a wild looking appearance or behavior.”
What’s a big game hunter to do after the deer season ends and the spring turkey season is still over a month away? Sad time, this month of February, eh?
It doesn’t have to be, not in Mississippi, where wild hogs have become oh-to-commonplace. February is a great time to be chasing pig, not that any month is not a good time to enjoy hoggin’.
Feral hogs can carry a number of diseases, some of which can be contracted by humans. And at least one of those nasty bacterial infections can be fatal.
But cleaning and consuming feral hogs can be done safely, as long as you take some commonsense steeps to prevent contamination.
Here are the top 6 ways to safely handle feral hogs:
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