Hunters shoot and kill 488lb WILD HOG in Texas as part of an ‘eradication’ to control the ‘pig bomb’ that’s seen a huge influx of the beasts
- Joel Dudley, owner of Nuisance Wildlife Removal, and Mike Huckabay shot and killed the 488lb feral hog in The Preserve – formerly known as Cypress Lakes
- The other six hogs killed each weighed roughly 250lbs
- Dudley and Huckabay used thermal imaging, nighttime vision scopes to hunt – a method that differs from the popular methods of using traps or dogs.
- Saturday’s hog killing was the largest for Dudley, who has been hunting for more than 15 years
- Zoologists feel that global warming has resulted in a ‘big bomb’ and allowed for increased mortality rates for piglets
Texas hunters snagged a nearly 500lb hog on Saturday night as they downed six more in an effort to curb the ‘pig bomb’ that has taken over the area.
Joel Dudley, owner of Nuisance Wildlife Removal, and Mike Huckabay shot and killed the 488lb feral hog in The Preserve – formerly known as Cypress Lakes in Liberty County.
The other six hogs killed each weighed roughly 250lbs each.
‘We were in there doing hog eradication because they have become so overpopulated,’ Dudley said to Bluebonnet News. ‘They have been tearing up the whole dang subdivision.’
Joel Dudley, owner of Nuisance Wildlife Removal, and Mike Huckabay shot and killed the 488lb feral hog in The Preserve – formerly known as Cypress Lakes
Dudley and Huckabay used thermal imaging, nighttime vision scopes to hunt – a method that differs from the popular methods of using traps or dogs.
Using the scopes allows them to see hogs at a period when they are more active.
‘We saw this big boar standing around one of the ponds. Even at the distance, we could tell he was massive. We went toward him and couldn’t find him, so we got back on the ATV and went down another road. That’s when Mike got within 20 yards of him and shot him,’ Dudley added.
‘There was another big one that I was watching with my thermal scope. He got within 10 yards of me. I had to shoot him because he was coming right at me.’
‘We were in there doing hog eradication because they have become so overpopulated,’ Dudley said. ‘They have been tearing up the whole dang subdivision.’
The other six hogs killed each weighed roughly 250lbs
Dudley, who has been hunting in southeast Texas for more than 15 years, said that Saturday’s haul was the largest hog he has ever gunned down.
Dudley and Huckabay used thermal imaging, nighttime vision scopes to hunt – a method that differs from the popular methods of using traps or dogs
With homes in close proximity, Dudley claims that hunting the hogs can prove to be extremely difficult.
‘I think the thermal vision makes it a lot safer because we can get within 5-10 yards of the feral hogs. It works in subdivisions and places like that. Sometimes the last thing you want to do is try trapping hogs in your community. You don’t want to put bait out and draw more pigs to what is already a nuisance area,’ he continued.
‘That’s why we go in with thermal scopes. We also use low-caliber ammunition so it won’t blow through the pigs. It just drops them where they are standing.’
In Southeast Texas, feral hogs are becoming an increasing problem.
A Liberty County woman, 59-year-old Christine Rollins, was fatally mauled by wild hogs in November 2019 just steps away from her home.
Dr Jack Mayer, a zoologist who has been researching wild pigs for 40 years, told The Daily Beast he blames global warming for increasing the survival rate of newborn piglets and producing more acorns, bulbs, roots and tubers for them to eat.
They can start reproducing at three months old and do so twice a year.
Dudley, who has been hunting in southeast Texas for more than 15 years, said that Saturday’s haul was the largest hog he has ever gunned down