On November 2-4, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) hosted a Feral Hog Management Discussion and Hunt outside of Milledgeville, Georgia. The event began with an overview of the feral swine problem in the United States and also outlined various management techniques used to quell the growing and expanding population of feral swine.
Attendees received special night vision training from some of America’s Elite Naval Special Forces before participating in two management hunts. Among the suite of management options discussed, shooting feral swine after dark with night vision technology and sound-suppressed weapons is considered the most effective approach to managing these animals and is typically used to augment trapping.
Classified as a nuisance species in Georgia and exotic to the Americas, feral swine cause significant damage to natural resources that includes game and non-game wildlife, water quality, and forest landscapes. State and federal agencies have struggled with cost-effective management techniques that impede the spread and/or aid in the removal of these animals.
CSF continues to engage on a larger scale with the feral swine issue on the state and federal level, and specifically engages through the Northeastern States Director Brent Miller’s participation in the National Wildlife Services Advisory Committee and the Southeastern States Director Bee Frederick’s participation in the National Wild Pig Task Force.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
