Trapping wild pigs
12 January 2009
Hawaii has a problem with wild pigs. The pigs are not native to the
island and they have no predators (other than humans) so they can easily
overpopulate an area. The pigs cause a substantial amount of
ecological damage, digging up native forests as well as farm lands,
gardens and lawns.
Managing the wild pigs is a subject with no easy answer. The
traditional Hawaiian lifestyle includes raising, releasing and hunting
pigs for sport as well as for food. Some people would prefer to let
the pigs live wild without hunting, trapping or any interference from
humans. Other people would prefer to see the pigs eradicated.
Anybody concerned with the island's ecosystem knows that it is important
to at least control the pig population.
Personally, I agree somewhat with all the groups. I've hunted and
eaten the pigs on my property and they are quite tasty. I've also
suffered many hundreds of dollars worth of damage because of the wild
pigs. Despite how angry they can make me, I still don't want to
harm the pigs unnecessarily, they're just doing what comes naturally to
them.
A good fence around the farm might solve the problem except that pigs
can break through just about any fence I can build. Good fencing is
not cheap, not easy to install and definitely not maintenance free.
I've allowed some of the local hunters onto my property but that can have
its own set of issues. Neither hunting nor fencing is a perfect
solution.
Government attempts to control the pig population often use traps.
The easiest trap is probably a snare trap which is nothing but a rope tied
into a noose and attached to a tree. Snare traps are simple and
effective but considered inhumane because the pig panics and constantly
charges against the snare until strangled to death. Many hunters
don't check their snares often enough and snare traps have been made
illegal.
Another style of trap is a pen or a cage with a trap door. I started making
one with some old fencing. I put up three walls then after the pigs
got used to the fence I was going to install the fourth wall. It
would have a one way door so the pigs could go in to get the food but
wouldn't be able to get out. Large pen traps can catch an entire herd
of pigs in a single night. The trick is to use very strong fencing.
That's why I gave up on the idea because the fencing I have isn't nearly
strong enough.
Pigs are amazingly strong. When they panic they will charge anything,
including a steel fence. When not panicked, they are excellent
diggers. Even if the ground is rocky pigs can get their snout under
the fence then lift or bend it up until they can squeeze underneath.
Pigs can also climb over the fencing if it isn't high enough. When
trapped, it's amazing what pigs can do.
The best trap is a heavy duty one made from steel. I have just such a
trap in my back field. It's not my trap, it was built by some native
Hawaiians that have been ranchers on the island for generations. They
definitely know how to build pig traps. Good thing too because the
trap has several large dents in it where large boars have rammed it at
full speed.
We baited the trap with macadamia nuts. That's the primary food the
pigs are coming onto the farm to eat so it makes an excellent bait.
We caught the first pig within a couple days. It was a young boar,
maybe a year and a half or two years old. There was also a baby
piglet in the trap.
Getting the boar out of the cage takes some careful effort. The
preferred method is to lasso the boar then climb in the cage and hogtie
it. Wrangling a wild boar can be exciting. Even with the snout
tied shut the boar can still cause some damage. If it got loose it
could cause some very serious damage.
Once the boar was subdued, the piglet was put in a dog kennel. If
you've never heard a scared piglet squeal, it's quite a racket. The
plan is to raise the piglet until it is full grown. Valerie and the
girls wanted to keep the piglet but after saying 'No' about a thousand times
they finally gave up and let a neighbor take it.
I may try building my own pig trap. Even if I had several traps I
doubt I could catch the pigs as fast as they can breed. Plus pigs are
smart so they may eventually learn to avoid the trap. In the mean time
though, I'm looking forward to some free pork. The local pigs make
excellent burritos.
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