Just How Bad is the Feral Hog Problem in Central Texas?

[majormadmax]

Originally Posted by huckster

Was the last estimate I can remember of the Feral Hog population in Texas. There aren't enough Bar-b-que pits in the state.
That would be a hell of a lot of bar-b-que.

Ugh. I wouldn't eat one, unless it was really young. The older ones can be pretty rank!

As for the gravity of the problem, according to the article below, currently there is an estimated population in excess of 1.5 million feral hogs in Texas where they do some $400 million in damages annually. The state allows hunters to kill them year-round without limits or capture them alive to take to slaughterhouses to be processed and sold to restaurants as exotic meat. Thousands more are shot from helicopters. The goal is not eradication, which few believe possible, but control.

More info at: A Plague of Pigs in Texas | Science & Nature | Smithsonian Magazine

[huckster]

I have never tried any feral hog. I have heard it was horrible, yes, a hunter once told me that the meat stank so badly as to be rendered worthless. Horrible. Conversely.
There are two stories here on this thread alone contradicting your opinion here Max. Posters Snappy Bob and Cody Mustang both remarked the meat was very good. Others have also told me the meat is good,
more than once I have heard this.
I have heard the same exact same stories about Javelinas. Some said the meat is worthless others
said it was good.
A couple more opinions from hunters I have heard were that that it all depends on how the carcasses were field dressed. A musk gland must be avoided and removed first in order to not spoil the meat.
QUOTE=majormadmax;32247910]Ugh. I wouldn't eat one, unless it was really young. The older ones can be pretty rank!

As for the gravity of the problem, according to the article below, currently there is an estimated population in excess of 1.5 million feral hogs in Texas where they do some $400 million in damages annually. The state allows hunters to kill them year-round without limits or capture them alive to take to slaughterhouses to be processed and sold to restaurants as exotic meat. Thousands more are shot from helicopters. The goal is not eradication, which few believe possible, but control.

More info at: A Plague of Pigs in Texas | Science & Nature | Smithsonian Magazine[/quote]