ARFF - Wild Pigs



	Wild pigs have been in Florida since the 16th century. Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto had a herd of pigs with him when his ships landed in Florida in 1539. Although de Soto never found the gold that he was searching for, pigs soon established a breeding population in Florida. Today, wild pigs are found in every one of Florida’s 67 counties. It is a cruel farce to persecute wild pigs as alien invaders of Florida's ecosystem when the animals have been here for over 400 years! Wild pigs are intelligent, adaptable animals who can live to be more than 10 years old. Despite their sharp tusks and large size (they can weigh more than 300 pounds), wild pigs are very wary of humans. Hunting pigs with dogs ARFF is opposed to all bloodsports— the recreational killing and maiming of animals— but the hunting of wild pigs is particularly barbaric. Wild pigs are sometimes shot by “still” hunters waiting in a tree stand, but more common is the use of dogs to find, chase and attack pigs. Upon finding a pig, a dog pack will chase the animal until he or she is exhausted. Hunters follow on foot or in swamp buggies. " . . . a wild scene. Leif and Tucker [dogs], who have raced past Cock [hunter] just before he reached the bay, are latched onto the pig’s ears. The other dogs bard and dart in to bite the pig’s flank. The pig squeals with a pitch and volume that would make the whine of a table saw seem like a low hum. Cock grabs its back legs, throws it down, puts a knee on its shoulder and begins stabbing. After four or five tries, he pierces the heart. The blood flows, the squealing stops and the admiration of the carcass begins.” -description of a hunt, St. Petersburg Times, June 4, 1999 Before the dogs are restrained, the pig can suffer horrible injuries. Occasionally, a wounded pig will escape, only to later die a lingering death. Hunters crudely kill pigs with knives, as a firearm would endanger their dogs. (Other inhumane weapons used to kill pigs include spears and swords!) Hunters will often castrate a young male pig, without anesthesia, before releasing him. The hunters believe that the animal will grow fatter and have better-tasting flesh, when captured in the future. Dogs can also be badly injured. On dog-hunting websites, hunters discuss how to dress wounds, deal with torn ears, lung punctures and what to do “if a dog gets gutted."

	The Law The State of Florida has one of America’s strongest laws against animal fighting. The statute (828.122) makes it a felony to stage fights between dogs, or other animals. In addition, Florida’s Attorney General has stated that hog-dog rodeos, a bloody event in which dogs are set upon wild pigs confined in a pen, violate Florida’s animal fighting law. Sadly, the law specifically exempts the use of dogs to "hunt wild hogs or to retrieve domestic hogs pursuant to customary hunting or agricultural practices.” To summarize Florida's illogical law, it is illegal to cause a dog to fight another dog, or to fight a pig in an enclosure. But it is legal to use dogs to chase and viciously attack a pig in “the wild.”

	Do wild pigs damage Florida's ecosystem, or carry disease? Wild pigs have been blamed for harming Florida's environment, although most of the damage reported to be caused by wild pigs rooting and foraging for food is to citrus farms, pastures and other habitats created by humans. Wild pigs do not carry disease that is easily transmissible to humans. Hunters and Florida's state wildlife agency are, not surprisingly, inconsistent about the “need” to kill wild pigs. Despite their complaints about ecological damage, hunters do not want to eliminate wild pigs entirely.* Instead, hunters want to continue to kill pigs for recreation. And the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has realized that pig hunting is a source of revenue (sale of hunting licenses), and actively maintains a “huntable” population of pigs on public lands. *In fact, a large number of wild boar were deliberately released in Florida by hunters looking to establish a new animal to kill. Protecting nature is never an excuse for violence against animals. *Did you know?* Wild pigs are a very important source of food for the endangered Florida panther.

	You Can Help • Please contact your state Senator and Representative and ask them to introduce legislation to remove the exemption in Florida's animal fighting law that allows hunters to use dogs to attack wild pigs. Click here to find your elected officials (requires 9-digit ZIP Code). Please contact ARFF if your Senator/Representative responds positively. • If you see an article in your local newspaper about hog-hunting, please respond with a letter to the editor. Animals need you to speak up in their defense! (If your letter is published, please send ARFF a copy.)