In the last couple years south central PA has aquired a wild hog population. There are several urban legends as to how we got them but the most logical reason is the shooting pens that we have in the area, they have escaped and now we have a hog pop. My question is has anyone heard where the PA Game Commission has made it illegal to shoot one? They say they are not listed as a game animal and therefore are protected. I was told the other day it was. Alot of locals have killed quite a few and alot of them have been piglets so they are definately breeding. What is the PGC thinking by not letting you shoot them, I mean nothing breeds and spreads quicker than a pig save a rabbit. The only difference is a rabbit isn't destructive like a pig. Left unchecked these things will take over. These are the wild boars also not feral hogs. I just think it's crazy if true. My feeling is in the next couple years you will have to buy a wild hog tag to kill one. Just another way to make a buck while the left unchecked hogs destroy habitat. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif
Wild Hogs In PA?
- Thread starter jaspa
- Start date
they ARE legal to shoot in Pa ,they PGC calls them a Domestic animal ,,actually the PGC WANTS them shot .
you can find more info here
http://www.huntingpa.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?Cat=
there has been alot if the news about hogs recently ,so i am sure you where here more about them in the future
you can find more info here
http://www.huntingpa.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?Cat=
there has been alot if the news about hogs recently ,so i am sure you where here more about them in the future
yotehunter74
New member
Actually they are NOT legal to shoot at this time... if you are caught shooting a wild pig, you will be charged with killing a protected species... the state supreme courts ruling that the game commission had regulatory powers over them automatically made them protected until such a time when the PGC can create seasons and bag limits to govern the hunting for them.... the way it looks right now is that it will be about the same as coyote hunting... 365 days a year.. no closed season... but until that time you can't hunt them.
Gimmieabeer
New member
GAME COMMISSION BEGINS DRAFTING REGULATIONS FOR WILD BOARS
HARRISBURG - In response to a recent state Supreme Court ruling, Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe today directed staff to begin developing regulations to allow the incidental taking of wild boars during certain hunting seasons. The draft regulations are expected to be ready for the Board of Game Commissioners to consider as part of its Jan. 29 meeting agenda.
"On Dec. 27, a Supreme Court ruling, in effect, classified wild boars as 'protected mammals,'" Roe said. "Prior to the court's ruling, the Game Commission had no regulatory oversight or authority for wild boars. Now, we are seeking to clarify and appropriately regulate the protection of wild boars that was put in place by the court."
Roe stressed that wild boars are not native to the Commonwealth and are classified as an invasive species by the Pennsylvania Invasive Species Council.
"Wild boars found in the state are either domestic pigs, Eurasian wild boars, descendants of European and Asian hogs, or hybrids of these species that have escaped or been released," Roe said. "They should not be confused with the javelina, or collared peccary, which is native to the southwestern and southern U.S. and northern Mexico.
"Wild boars may weigh more than 400 pounds and are very prolific; they can produce litters of 8 to 12 young and can have two litters per year. They are extremely destructive to crops, wildlife habitat and the environment, and they are a danger to wildlife and domestic animals and a threat to the pork industry, especially since they are carriers of diseases and parasites that can infect livestock, wildlife and humans."
Roe noted that wild boars root and wallow, which destroys wildlife habitats. Destruction includes erosion along waterways and wetlands and the loss of native plants. Additionally, wild boars compete for food with deer, bears, turkeys, squirrels and many other birds and mammals. They are predators of small mammals and deer fawns as well as ground-nesting birds such as turkeys, ovenbirds and grouse including their nests and young.
Breeding populations are believed to currently exist in only Bedford and Cambria counties, where pregnant females and young have recently been seen and killed. Damage caused by feral hogs to wildlife, habitat and property has been reported in the southwest, southcentral and northeast regions of the state. Two additional counties, Montgomery and Warren, have unconfirmed sightings of young and/or pregnant sows.
While no feral hogs in Pennsylvania have tested positive for any infectious diseases as yet, feral hogs are known to carry 18 viral diseases, 10 of which can infect people; and 10 bacterial diseases, all of which cause disease in humans. Feral hogs are reservoirs for numerous parasites that can affect people, pets, livestock or wildlife.
As wild boars were not considered "wildlife" prior to the court's ruling, Roe said that hunters had been permitted to take them without regard to state hunting laws or regulations. However, with the ruling in place, wild boars are protected and may not be killed until the Game Commission takes action to implement a regulation to allow such action.
Roe also noted that the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Pennsylvania Pork Producers Council are sponsoring research in Pennsylvania. The Wildlife Services Division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the Pennsylvania Game Commission are collaborating to trap wild boars and collect blood and tissue samples. Wild boars captured as part of these surveillance programs are not returned to the wild, they are humanely dispatched.
A Pennsylvania task force also has been established to locate feral hog populations and help address the concerns caused by their presence. The task force consists of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the PennAg Industry Association, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Penn State University, the Pennsylvania Audubon Society and the Pennsylvania Pork Producers Council.
HARRISBURG - In response to a recent state Supreme Court ruling, Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe today directed staff to begin developing regulations to allow the incidental taking of wild boars during certain hunting seasons. The draft regulations are expected to be ready for the Board of Game Commissioners to consider as part of its Jan. 29 meeting agenda.
"On Dec. 27, a Supreme Court ruling, in effect, classified wild boars as 'protected mammals,'" Roe said. "Prior to the court's ruling, the Game Commission had no regulatory oversight or authority for wild boars. Now, we are seeking to clarify and appropriately regulate the protection of wild boars that was put in place by the court."
Roe stressed that wild boars are not native to the Commonwealth and are classified as an invasive species by the Pennsylvania Invasive Species Council.
"Wild boars found in the state are either domestic pigs, Eurasian wild boars, descendants of European and Asian hogs, or hybrids of these species that have escaped or been released," Roe said. "They should not be confused with the javelina, or collared peccary, which is native to the southwestern and southern U.S. and northern Mexico.
"Wild boars may weigh more than 400 pounds and are very prolific; they can produce litters of 8 to 12 young and can have two litters per year. They are extremely destructive to crops, wildlife habitat and the environment, and they are a danger to wildlife and domestic animals and a threat to the pork industry, especially since they are carriers of diseases and parasites that can infect livestock, wildlife and humans."
Roe noted that wild boars root and wallow, which destroys wildlife habitats. Destruction includes erosion along waterways and wetlands and the loss of native plants. Additionally, wild boars compete for food with deer, bears, turkeys, squirrels and many other birds and mammals. They are predators of small mammals and deer fawns as well as ground-nesting birds such as turkeys, ovenbirds and grouse including their nests and young.
Breeding populations are believed to currently exist in only Bedford and Cambria counties, where pregnant females and young have recently been seen and killed. Damage caused by feral hogs to wildlife, habitat and property has been reported in the southwest, southcentral and northeast regions of the state. Two additional counties, Montgomery and Warren, have unconfirmed sightings of young and/or pregnant sows.
While no feral hogs in Pennsylvania have tested positive for any infectious diseases as yet, feral hogs are known to carry 18 viral diseases, 10 of which can infect people; and 10 bacterial diseases, all of which cause disease in humans. Feral hogs are reservoirs for numerous parasites that can affect people, pets, livestock or wildlife.
As wild boars were not considered "wildlife" prior to the court's ruling, Roe said that hunters had been permitted to take them without regard to state hunting laws or regulations. However, with the ruling in place, wild boars are protected and may not be killed until the Game Commission takes action to implement a regulation to allow such action.
Roe also noted that the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Pennsylvania Pork Producers Council are sponsoring research in Pennsylvania. The Wildlife Services Division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the Pennsylvania Game Commission are collaborating to trap wild boars and collect blood and tissue samples. Wild boars captured as part of these surveillance programs are not returned to the wild, they are humanely dispatched.
A Pennsylvania task force also has been established to locate feral hog populations and help address the concerns caused by their presence. The task force consists of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the PennAg Industry Association, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Penn State University, the Pennsylvania Audubon Society and the Pennsylvania Pork Producers Council.
JerseyDogsII
New member
Rumor has it within a few years NJ is going to be littered with them also. From what some scientist believe if they get a foothold in the pine barrens it will be a catastrophe for the ecosystem of the pine barrens. They can wreck havoc, were you have alot of shallow rooted vegitation. There were a few killed this past deer season down here. Our EPa has there heads so far up their backsides, I'm sure we'll be over run by them in ten years or so, because they react so slowly. We have a huge coyote population down here but only a short season to hunt them. The majority of our season coincides with deer hunting seasson and to many people in the woods pushin the yotes around. Tim
psutrapper
New member
nocternal,
what in the world would make you think that you would have to buy another permit from the PGC? The PGC didnt ask for this...it was forced on them buy the Supreme Court! Ideally the Dept of Ag would have had control over these..as they did prior to this ruling. Now, since the Supreme Court forced it on the PG, they have to act. If you remember prior to this ruling, the PGC made a big push to educate the hunters of PA how big of a problem pigs are and will be...therefore...get out and kill them! Now, since the PGC has to regulate them, there has to be regulations and there is a VERY GOOD probability that those regs will mimic those of the Coyotes regs now...24/7/365...with no extra liscense....only your general bagtag. period. no extra permit.
what in the world would make you think that you would have to buy another permit from the PGC? The PGC didnt ask for this...it was forced on them buy the Supreme Court! Ideally the Dept of Ag would have had control over these..as they did prior to this ruling. Now, since the Supreme Court forced it on the PG, they have to act. If you remember prior to this ruling, the PGC made a big push to educate the hunters of PA how big of a problem pigs are and will be...therefore...get out and kill them! Now, since the PGC has to regulate them, there has to be regulations and there is a VERY GOOD probability that those regs will mimic those of the Coyotes regs now...24/7/365...with no extra liscense....only your general bagtag. period. no extra permit.
Yotebeware
New member
Old thread just curious how is the feral hog population in Pennsylvania now? I live in Jefferson county and have not heard of any hogs around here yet. But neighboring counties they have been seen.