Ontario wages war on feral hogs!

September 25, 2014 17d Comments

(Somewhat flattering photo of feral hog’s ‘less destructive’ domestic cousin)

 

Word has just hit the street that the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNRF) Kemptville district is waging war on feral hogs in Eastern Ontario!

Should a hunter spot one of these feral hogs while out in the field, the Ministry is encouraging them to ‘shoot to kill’ and, I assume, ask questions later.

The feral hog is described by the MNRF as a wild beast that damages crops, transmits diseases to domestic swine and can be a threat to human safety.

Yikes!!

All hunters and land-owners are encouraged to shoot every wild hog they see under ‘Provisions of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act’ and have even distributed a ‘tip sheet’ describing the wild boar ‘kill zone’ and best location for a effective kill shot!

Wild hogs have been reported east of Ottawa in the Plantagenet and Hawkesbury area and have caused havoc in many areas of North America.

The public is encouraged to report any wild hog encounter to the MNRF: (613) 258-8267 –  ask to be connected to Kemptville office

Outdoorsguy

P.S. Thanks to my pal Keebler, via twitter, for the heads-up on this one!

Follow me on Twitter @ThatOutdoorsGuy  (but leave the hogs at home)

17 thoughts on “Ontario wages war on feral hogs!”

  3. I did not think that these wild boars could survive in our climate in this part of the country. They seem to have established themselves in warmer regions. Could they actually survive our winter?

    1. Hunting mom, as far as I know these pests can establish themselves anywhere! They have already torn up much of western Canada…Alberta had a ‘bounty’ on them at one time.

      You’re right though…mostly in southern part of the province from what I’ve read.

      Btw, I will be chatting about the ON wild hog issue with Ed Hand this am on 1310 NEWS at 11:00, for those of you in Ottawa.

      Outdoorsguy

  4. Oh great…. Now I gotta make more room in the freezer… Just in case….
    But really, it’s refreshing to get a blessing from the MNRF to help control pests…
    Too bad they would declare open season on cormorants…

    1. Unfortunately Herman, the Double-crested Cormorant has been deemed, by Environment Canada, as a NATIVE species in this country…so there will never be an all-out war on them!

      Wild hogs, on the other hand, are NOT native..so I’d say watch out little piggies!

      Looks like one was shot recently..south of Merrickville!

      Outdoorsguy

  5. Based on expert input from the GTA our government will implement a ‘Hog Wise’ Program modeled after the highly successful Bear Wise program. Regrettably Ontario mentions that because these animals are in areas frequented by hunters and people who actually go outdoors they will increase our hunting licenses to pay for the program. Pundits state that Mr. McGuinty’s software company has been unofficially (read officially, signed, sealed, delivered, done like dinner) hired as a consultant to create and implement this program. Budget numbers have not been posted, but whatever you think it will cost, triple it and add 100 million for ‘over budget’ unforeseen costs..
    In other news there were talks about re-using the multi-million dollar anti terrorist fence from the Pan-Am games (the one that will keep athletes safe from terrorists because it’s high, who knew?) to keep the pigs from entering the GTA. There are concerns about inter-breading with the current strain in and around Queens park.
    Supposed to be a nice weekend and I bet the wallies are biting, finally!!!

    1. wildboarcanada.ca

      the site tracks feral hogs throughout the country…kills, sightings, etc

      Check it out…you’ll see the one south of Merrickville on the map.

      Outdoorsguy

  7. What about wolves and other predators? Can the wolves take care of the problem? Will this increase the wolf population and affect other game, like dear and moose?

  8. Let’s see. We have a government that has hired researchers, more lands and forest and agricultural personnel, to handle these boars. Like, how many jobs has it generated? Welfare sitters or working people? Reporters are working, newspaper boys, photoprint, and taxes collected. We are collecting taxes right? So, maybe the government should help by paying farmers to fence the properties, or, do we give them write offs? We do have a government that closed down fish farms as we have the US to help out, now, we have endangered trout, rite? We do have vegetables from Mexico/US. Are the prairies planting wheat or do we rely upon the US? But, OH GOD, we do have boars, and we are not giving them back!!! Just look at the smiles of the people that will be filling their freezers.

  9. Don’t forget that wild animals, like deer, moose, and yes, boar, are also responsible for pooing out seeds throughout the woods. It is said of elephants, that tree saplings are actually pooped out. Have you ever tried to dig up something from an Ontario forest? I am surprised at how many roots and debris one must remove, with little real dirt, to get to what one wants. Then, enters the boar. Loggers have removed maples, oaks, etc, leaving behind only pine. Pine kills off a forest as the needles prevents vegetation from growing. Worse still, pine brings in a moss that kills off healthy young trees and bushes. Enters the boar. Someone told me recently that Toronto is going to flush raw sewage from the sewers into the lake, right? There is a little problem here and a huge problem over there.

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