History of Missouri Helicopter Wild Hog Hunting Season

MDC STAFF QUOTE: “Helicopter is useful in areas where terrain makes it difficult to set large traps, or where hogs have learned to avoid them. A helicopter gunner also is effective at KILLING THE LAST FEW HOGS in area that have managed to avoid being trapped. 

MDC STAFF QUOTE: Helicopter flying low overhead would tend to make feral hogs bolt to escape the noise and obviously the sound of the helicopter will scatter them,

It took USDA Aphis 4 years to kill 885 hogs with Helicopter in the entire state of Missouri per Freedom of information act Requests results.
 
"2019 Media Report - Landowner - For the past 18 years of trapping by the USDA, he’s been raising livestock on 600 acres surrounded by the BELL MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS AREA a in Iron County, Mo and they have trapped another 187 hogs."
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2020 - Missouri Helicopter Wild Hog Hunting Season

January 20-25, 2020  Mingo, Duck Creek to temporarily close for feral hog operation
346  Wild Hogs Killed Mingo/Duck Creek
That is a historical record after using helicopters on Mingo Area for 11 years which they never killed over 140 hogs.

January 27 thru 29, 2020 - Paddy Creek, Hercules Glades closing to hikers for aerial hog eradication effort
The Paddy Creek closure began at 6 a.m. Monday and will remain closed until 6 p.m. Wednesday.
​ZERO WILD HOGS KILLED - Roby/Paddy Creek.
Did not work Hercules due to weather.


All Trails Closed Feb. 2 through Feb. 7, 2020 – Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park and Taum Sauk Mountain State Park | Missouri State Parks for wildlife management. 
ZERO WILD HOGS KILLED - JSI/Taum Sauk have not been operational this week, but park stayed closed.

​2019 - Missouri Helicopter Wild Hog Hunting Season

​2019

Did you know in Missouri Dec 9th thru the 13th of 2019 at Taum Sauk, Johnson Shut Inns, and Bell Mountain Wilderness.

USDA Aphis Helicopter was used for 27.8 hours.

USDA Aphis for those hours used was $600 per hour 

For a Grand Total of $16,680 (This does not count the 2.5-Million-dollar cost of a helicopter)

UNKNOWN cost = We are unaware if this includes the cost of ground personnel blocking off roads.
USDA Aphis said they killed 472 Wild Hogs – No confirmation of video provided of any kills; no photograph proof of any kills provided, no trailer hauling off 472 hogs for disposal.
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They say it cost $35.00 per hog.

​2019 - February 11-15, 2019 for invasive feral hog control operations. They killed 127 hogs and I have video proof the day after and days after that multiple dozens of hogs and huge hogs’ still on Mingo.

MDC quote from the MEDIA DEPARTMENT - That it only cost $32.00 to $35.00 dollar to kill each of the 127 wild hogs at Mingo Wildlife Refuge

QUOTE MDC Media Department - MDC did not participate in the aerial operation and no MDC money was used for the helicopter operations. (NO STAFF USED ON GROUND?)

The operations are part of a multi-year strategy by STATE and federal wildlife officials to eradicate the hogs.

HMMM – Guess when they include STATE in the next line, they forget MDC employees used to block off Road access – Guess they worked for free that day
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Did they forget the MDC pays the USDA APHIS to kill hogs in Missouri and are immune to FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN – Glad no state money was used.

February 15th, 2019 - THE DAY AFTER

​Video Proof taken February 15th around 11:30 by Concerned Missouri citizens. Proof the MDC and USDA APHIS policy on Feral Hogs is a failure in Missouri. The day after 127 hogs killed at Mingo - Feb 13th thru 14th. MDC Quote “One of the reasons we use the helicopter is to have the most efficient means for eradicating hogs." Might want to revise that statement. - Won't see this on the local TV station.

​More Video Proof of another group taken February 15th around 11:30 by Concerned Missouri citizens. 

​​More Video Proof of another large boar taken February 15th around 11:30 by Concerned Missouri citizens.

​2018 - Missouri Helicopter Wild Hog Hunting Season

Sections of Bell Mountain Wilderness will be closed to the public from Dec. 10 through Dec. 12

Sections of Rock Pile Wilderness will be closed to the public Dec. 12 through Dec. 14

USDA Aphis killed 103 hogs

​2017 - Missouri Helicopter Wild Hog Hunting Season

​MDC helicopter gunner fails to kill ANY feral hogs at Current River site

​2016 - Missouri Helicopter Wild Hog Hunting Season

​Five helicopter flights last year killed 225 feral hogs in different parts of the state.

​2015 - Missouri Helicopter Wild Hog Hunting Season

MDC HELICOPTER killed 72 feral hogs in the area of Bell Mountain Wilderness.

MDC flew over parts of Iron and Reynolds counties; the gunner shot 33 wild hogs that day.

MDC’s five helicopter missions between mid January and late March yielded 138 dead pigs in Missouri.

MDC helicopter 7 were killed in Vernon County on the first flight of the season,

MDC helicopter in Hickory County killed 17 pigs

MDC helicopter kills 9 during a flight over Wayne and Butler counties.

​2014 - Missouri Helicopter Wild Hog Hunting Season

​2014 Missouri Study Aerial shooting at $296.00 per pig, Jump said.
Brad Jump, Springfield, Missouri’s feral swine coordinator for USDA - Wildlife Services.

​2013 - Missouri Helicopter Wild Hog Hunting Season

The Missouri Department of Conservation will conduct a one-day aerial operation to control feral hogs in Mingo National Wildlife Refuge.

MDC Staff Quote: With traps, you might get 15 hogs. If we can get out with the helicopter and get 40 or 50 in one day, so that's so much more efficient.”

Aerial hog hunt yielded exactly 1 dead hog at Mingo National Wildlife Refuge.

​2009 - Missouri Helicopter Wild Hog Hunting Season

Opens Records Request Result from the Missouri Department of Conservation

2009 - Missouri Department of Conservation did Feral Hog Research.
Feral Hog Research Project Final Report
Executive Summary

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) began a feral hog research project in 2009 to analyze hog movements, cost efficiency of control efforts, and reproductive characteristics and growth rates of the population.

This is what the Executive Summary said Trapping and Helicopter cost also.
With Helicopter – Aerial Gunning – 1,393.5 Man-Hours to kill 144 Wild Hogs or 9.70 Man Hours Per Hog

Helicopter $296.34 per hog
(If helicopters are killing the last few hogs why after 5 years the same areas are coming up again?)

2009  - Both the V.I. analysis and centroid distance analysis showed that hogs were least disturbed by trapping activities and most disturbed by aerial gunning with the helicopter.

2009  - Generally, our results were similar to others, in that while hunting with aerial gunning did have some impact on hog movements, those activities did not cause hogs to leave their home range or cause permanent shifts in their activity patterns

2009  - However, the average distance away hogs moved from the site of disturbance helicopter was approximately 1 km.,
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2009  - It is likely that the activity will cause the hog to leave the area, but, in general, the hogs do not go very far and often return to the site after a period of time.

Missouri Wild Hog Crisis - Page