The problem of wild pigs in California is a topic of legislation awaiting the signature of Gov. Gavin Newsom.
It is also the topic of an online forum the state is planning for Thursday. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) in an announcement said the forum will run via Zoom from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., but the agency has not yet provided any details about how the public can access the online meeting.
The topic of wild pigs is relevant statewide, with the animals having been found in 56 of California’s 58 counties, including Contra Costa. They are known for being destructive to property and land — using their snouts to forage for food and rooting up soil.
The pig problem prompted Senate Bill 856, introduced by state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, which seeks to loosen regulations and lower hunting fees for killing the feral hogs — including allowing someone to kill an unlimited number of pigs and prohibiting someone from intentionally releasing a pig to live in the wild.
SB 856 gathered strange political bedfellows, with the animal rights group Humane Society of the United States and various hunting groups both opposing the bill. The California Farm Bureau Federation and other farming interests, along with the city of Napa, are among its supporters, according to a Senate floor analysis of the bill.
SB 856 passed with zero no votes in both the state Senate or Assembly and was sent for the governor’s signature in late August, but Newsom has not yet signed it into law.
CDFW and the California Fish and Game Commission’s online public forum planned for the topic doesn’t have access information yet, but the agencies said in their announcement that the event “is intended to elicit a broader discussion about wild pigs in California by presenting a scientific framework that supports open and respectful discussion, educating one another about wild pig issues and vetting potential solutions with various experts in the field.”
29 comments
Bring on our AR-15’s as legal wild pig hunts are in again!
Newscum and pigs..haha perfect..
Maybe make wild pig part of “special” pork dinner for people who like “specialty” dinners instead of just plain ol’ regular pork chops. Should get hunters going after them to sell by the pound. They are after all pretty porky critters.
Remember the pig roundup in Lafayette. The guy corralled them. I can’t remember if he just shot them in the corral. Blackhawk had a big pig problem a few years back but haven’t heard anything about that lately. I had a friend who had hunting dogs and used them one time to hunt pigs in Mendocino County. A pig killed one of his dogs. Old Joe never hunted pigs after that. I remember a soldier hunting pigs at Hunter Ligget. He saw a pig and stopped his truck got out of the truck and the pig charged him. He was able to get a shot off and the pig died at his feet.
They are invasive, destructive and overpopulated. Allow hunting at night with night vision scopes, semi automatic rifles and no limit. In areas with an over abundance of pigs, allow hunting from helicopters. Once the carnage is complete, donate the meat or process it and sell it in the supermarkets. It’s Pig and its delicious. I’m willing to donate my time for free as a population management expert.
Female pigs are good to eat but not boars. Because they were not castrated young like all male pigs in the grocery stores their meat tastes like urine. Stinks like that when being cooked also.
Yes👍🏼
Suggest they be trapped and let loose in the yards of vegans, vegetarians and PETA supporters.
Wild pigs love to eat turkey eggs and newborn deer.
Typical of CA, management by crisis.
This article is making me hungry…
I’ll dig the pit….
I saw one for the first time on Mt. Diablo 2 years ago, after riding up there for 20 years. Saw them in the same area a year later and there were now two families of 10+, they reproduce several times a year.
ferral pigs are a bigger problem in Texas than here and they can’t get rid of them. Only Hawaii can deal with them as they are slowly pushing them off the island.
They’d be great if they were domesticated for digging up lawns that people wanedt to remove in order to plant more drought-tolerant landscaping.
Curious which hunting groups oppose this, and why. I dismiss wholly these animal “rights” groups, particularly with regard to these situations. The “rights” of feral pigs, mmm, hmmm.
Google is your friend. Lots of info on why some hunting organizations are opposed. https://huntingainteasy.podbean.com/e/ep-27-what-s-wrong-with-sb-856-the-wild-pig-bill-it-s-a-trap/
They are rooting up soil? Oh by all means kill them. I guess I don’t understand the problem. Why is killing the only solution?
Rooting up soil, yards, school playing fields, golf courses – you know, places where the damage is very expensive and necessary to repair.
Several years ago, a sounder of wild pigs began visiting my backyard at night, rooting around and rolling up the lawn … just generally making a mess. It wasn’t that difficult, however, to replace the pieces they had uprooted right back where they came from and those pieces were not any worse for the wear, taking hold and growing right back.
It was annoying, nevertheless, and at that time it was recommended that one leave a radio playing in the area overnight which was quite effective in moving them along out of the area. They haven’t been back, thankfully. As I recall, it was also an especially dry year which may have prompted the animals to forage in unfamiliar areas.
Should be open season statewide, 24/7/365 , with no counties or cities able to deny the take. Archery or firearms legal for take, no limit, counties & cities cannot override statewide law. You would see the problem vastly curtailed.
@Randy….Real men use a Bowie knife, you PETA types might want to pass on watching this…..
https://youtu.be/zFvf2-v5bSk
Feral hogs are a non native species that raise hell with farms & vineyards and also pollute lakes and streams.
Lake Sonoma still allows archery hunts for wild pigs but the rules and regulations make it more trouble than it’s worth for me. If you decide to hunt there make sure you have a kayak or canoe to get over to the other side of the lake where most of the pigs are.
If you want a quality hunt and are willing to pay for it there are some private ranches for archery & firearm hunts too.
Hunting is a rich man’s sport nowadays.
I thought they were the ones that wanted to change the name of Kirker Pass Rd….
🤪
Why is it ok that if our wildlife is overpopulated and just trying to survive, humans get to kill them but it’s not ok to kill a human? I mean there’s an overpopulation of humans who are destroying our Earth but they have every right to live! Our wildlife should get to live too!!!!!! To those who contribute to the killings, may KARMA find you and destroy you in her own way!
Guess we’ll trap them and send them over to “raiderette.”
Who is destroying humans. Joe Biden and his handlers.
If the wild pigs figure out a way to fight back, maybe you’ll get your wish. Until then, exterminating them is no different than exterminating rats, except I assume pigs are better eating.
@Raiderette , I’m with you! Humans are far most disgusting and problematic than animals are! Especially the scumbag criminals that are plastered all over this claycord site all the time. Why not do away with them instead? Oh that’s right, California doesn’t prosecute anybody anymore. At least were not Illinois!…… yet………
@Raiderette
To quote a line from “Field of Dreams”:
You’re seeing a whole team of psychiatrists, aren’t you?
Homeless advocates should ask for the meat and feed the street people with it. Maybe they could do the hunt themselves, or maybe teach their clients to hunt…
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