# When hunting wild hogs (as part of pest eradication), which is better? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 9, 2021, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-hunting-wild-hogs-as-part-of-pest-eradication-which-is-better/955803 "2021-12-09T23:19:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-hunting-wild-hogs-as-part-of-pest-eradication-which-is-better/955803/21 "2021-12-10T22:57:40Z")
There’s a state park near my home, in the steep hills to the east of Silicon Valley. We once chatted with one of the rangers who took care of the campground and picnic grounds, and he says that he and a couple of other rangers hunt the wild pigs. They took their jeeps further back into the park, well away from trails and visitors, and shot the hell out of them. But they couldn’t really make a dent in their numbers. Campers are advised to not feed them and keep an eye out for them, as they’re dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-hunting-wild-hogs-as-part-of-pest-eradication-which-is-better/955803/22 "2021-12-10T23:09:28Z")
Ha! We had a SCA event in one of those parks, and the rangers were lamenting no one could use guns there, too close to civilization. We offered SCA heavy fighter sin armor with boar spears. They were tempted, but the liability issues… ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-hunting-wild-hogs-as-part-of-pest-eradication-which-is-better/955803/23 "2021-12-10T23:50:00Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > We offered SCA heavy fighter sin armor with boar spears. They were tempted, but the liability issues… That sounds like more than a liability issue - it sounds like a good way to die… ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-hunting-wild-hogs-as-part-of-pest-eradication-which-is-better/955803/24 "2021-12-11T05:55:55Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Few hundred pounds of enraged pork does not lie down and die easily. I remember a thread from years ago where someone asked what animal would be the worst opponent under some circumstance and the general consensus came down to wild boars. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-hunting-wild-hogs-as-part-of-pest-eradication-which-is-better/955803/25 "2021-12-11T18:17:31Z")
Yup, even your cute domestic pig can go a bit feral and kill you with very little effort. And domestic pigs that escape go feral with a quickness and are quite successful at it. Very efficient and capable animals, pigs. Smart, too. ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-hunting-wild-hogs-as-part-of-pest-eradication-which-is-better/955803/26 "2021-12-13T07:03:18Z")
Whenever anything remotely related to this topic comes up - or worse, the dreaded “w” word - I’m obliged to post this: [Never send a big dog to do a little dog’s job](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN0-vN1P66M&ab_channel=TuslancesCaza). ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-hunting-wild-hogs-as-part-of-pest-eradication-which-is-better/955803/27 "2021-12-13T16:53:42Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > My husband said it would be better to take out the little ones so that they don’t grow up to become big boars and sows. I thought it’d be best to take out the biggest ones so that they don’t breed. Maybe I’m wrong but I’d think that if you killed the adults, the young would be more vulnerable to predation and generally be more apt to die early. So you’d have the knock-on effects of no adults and whatever young wind up inside a puma or coyote or whatever eats undefended young boars. But I’m assuming some fairly young young. Probably you’d have enough intermediate aged boars to pick up the slack. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-hunting-wild-hogs-as-part-of-pest-eradication-which-is-better/955803/28 "2021-12-13T18:10:31Z")
Semi-related article, describes how to us temperature and terrain to determine where boar will be > **[This little piggy doesn’t like heat and low barometric pressure](https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/12/this-little-piggy-doesnt-like-heat-and-low-barometric-pressure/)** > > Researchers say tracking feral pig movement can help save crops, slow disease. Brian [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-hunting-wild-hogs-as-part-of-pest-eradication-which-is-better/955803.md?page=1)