Methods of eradicating feral hogs in Oklahoma will be discussed in an upcoming House interim study requested by three Members. Representatives Brian Renegar, Kevin Wallace and Sean Roberts will present their findings to the House Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development this fall.
It’s estimated the state has between 430,000 to 1.6 million wild hogs in all 77 counties.
“It is very difficult to accurately measure the population, which is why the range is so large,” said Betty Thompson, deputy commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry.
From what the Agriculture Department has been able to find, wild pigs are in abundance in southern Oklahoma, especially in the Red River area of Johnston County, the Arbuckle Mountains in Murray County and throughout the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuges and the Fort Sill military reservation in Caddo County.
The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation has surveyed damage caused by feral hogs around the state. It estimates the hogs have created about $1.5 billion in damages to public and private property.
Destruction might be one way the hogs affect the state financially, but they also create a health threat to livestock. Another economic impact to Oklahoma. According to the Agriculture Department, the hogs can carry up to 30 diseases, many of which could prove deadly in livestock.
While a bill to allow for nighttime hunting of the feral hog population was vetoed, Governor Fallin signed an executive order to streamline the process to get a permit to hunt the hogs. But trapping the hogs might be a way the state could more effectively manage the population.
“Trapping remains the best way to eradicate this invasive species,” said Michael Teague, state Secretary of Energy and Environment.
Renegar, who is a veterinarian, is reviewing research from Texas A&M. It shows that trapping is the single most effective tool for controlling the population compared to other methods.
Trapping could lead to economic opportunities like hunting preserves which allow permitted hunters to track and kill the hogs in enclosed properties. Those properties would be inspected by the Agriculture Department.
