Hog Poison Is Not The Answer, But I Got Some Ideas

Dear GON,

Thank you for bringing to light the stupid and disgusting plan that the government has to rid us of feral hogs. The farmers have convinced the government to allow them to poison them.

If the wild hogs are such a problem, then why are we forbid to bait them and harvest them for food on WMAs and national forest lands? They think to poison them and let them rot is better?

Why do the farmers charge a lot of money in order to allow hunters hunt them? Remember when the DNR slaughtered the hogs and let them rot on the barrier islands. The hunters had a fit.

A few years back my friends and I put our names on a list through the DNR saying that we would hunt or trap excess hogs for the farmers. None of us ever got an invite.

When they poison all of the hogs, will these farmers then cry about the deer? Will they be allowed to poison all of the deer? Deer eat a lot of crops and tear up cars. Will the insurance companies jump on the band wagon? You better believe they will.

Who is going to monitor these farmers? If they insist on starting this, any farmer who applies for a permit should be forced to let hunters hunt the hogs free of charge for five years before a permit is issued. It’s worth mentioning again that year-round baiting should be allowed on all national forests and WMAs lands.

I’m not saying that hogs are not a nuisance. I’m just saying that there is a right way and a wrong way to control the hogs. Everyone should write or call your congressman, senator, state representative and state senator to stop this before it gets implemented.

Bob Jones, Franklin

Editor’s Note: To view the story on  toxic bait that is being tested on wild hogs in Alabama and Texas, go to http://gon.com/news/toxic-bait-tested-in-war-on-wild-hogs.

Numbers Tell Story In The Northern Zone Baiting Debate

Dear GON,

In the February 2018 issue of GON, there was an article titled, “Does Baiting Affect Deer Hunting?” In the same issue were the final five weeks of the Truck-Buck contest.

In every week except for Week 16, the South entered more bucks than the North. In Week 16, the North entered seven bucks, and the South had six bucks. For Week 17, the North had 16 entries, and the South has 25 entries.

Does baiting affect deer hunting? It’s possible…

Roger Lingerfelt, Monroe

GON Social

GON Facebook: With only four days left in the season, Torie Hunter was able to get this big Appling County buck. It green-scored 127 2/8 inches.

GON Twitter: Kevin Steinke mentioned us in his tweet: “@GONMagazine how about my 12-year-old’s first buck. Kannon Steinke in Randolph County.”

GON Instagram: Owen Kuhn, of Tallahassee, Fla., with a 7-lb. giant shoal bass that he caught on the Flint River. “Caught the fish just on the front edge of a big shoal with a fluke. Landed several others before he struck in the same spot,” said Owen.