March 14th, 2019 - Regulations Committee - 20 Min Presentation - 9:30 A.M.
Jefferson City, Missouri
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Missouri Department of Conservation Headquarters
Headquarters Murals
Slide Show Presentation
MISSOURI WILD HOG CRISIS
March 14th, 2019
NO. 1 - What is the population of Feral Hogs in Missouri - Does not matter how many killed if we can't get to 70% threshold and we can't get to the 70% if we don't know what the current population is.
Additional Information given verbally is that U.S. Forest Service Report for Mark Twain National Forest show population at estimated 20,000 to 30,000 in 2017 in yearly report.
If Mark Twain National Forest closes to killing hogs by the public then the expansion won't take 5 years but only 2 1/2 years.
MDC along with USDA APHIS does not have the man power to cover 1.5 million acres.
No. 2 - Written Guidelines to public to much variation between official sources.
No. 3 - Private Landowners as Partners
Hunters are part of the Solution. At very minimum firearms season on public land - Hog should be allowed to be killed.
Dog are part of the solution and liaison between to add total to overall hogs killed.
With supplemental information given verbally. About landowners trapping and Hunters killing hogs on public land and the use of dogs.
No. 4 - Wild West of Hog trapping
Don't know if the corporate scenario - That the people in charge, are not aware what is actually going on in the field.
Reporting of of What, When, Where and How needs to be broken down to the public. I want to know how many hogs have been trapped or killed on Castor River Conservation Area and on private land, not just overall numbers.
Mingo Wildlife Refuge does not fall under MDC is has been Hog Nursery for Southeast Missouri for multiple years and not the so called movement of hogs.
No. 5 - Stop with the Helicopters and bring in the dogs,
Never been a successful control of hog population without the use of dogs,
Stop using eradication because that window has shut.
Only time in history that cost of helicopter went down from 296 dollar per hog down to 35 dollars hog - 6 years later.
Official information is being presented by too many sources and is not close to being consistent.
No. 6 - Complete time line of what actually going on in the field of what I have experienced as a landowner.
Along with the blow back of trying to solve the problem. Along with the Messaging going out to public.
Still a flicker of light, but if Mark Twain National Forest bans killing hogs then it becomes a waste of time. Then Missouri will make history. It will become the first and only state with the largest public land in the United States where the public can't kill feral hogs. Forget about 5 years it will only take 2 years for the population explosion. Missouri has the potential to make Texas look like amateurs.
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