JACKSON, Miss. – Hogs are a nuisance to Mississippi.
“Think of it as cancer, we’ve got cancer cells all over this state, and if you’ve got hogs on your property, you’ve got cancer. If you don’t monitor it and you don’t start working on it, change your diet and get treatment. You’re going to die,” said Ricky Flint with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP).
When wild hogs root they can crops, damage farm equipment, and even cause erosion to levees. They also destroy other wildlife.
“You’ve got an animal literally will eat anything and can live anywhere with an incredibly high reproductive rate,” said Chad Dacus with the MDWFP.
Dacus says that wild hogs in Mississippi have the best, or worst of wild and domestic pigs. They can survive anywhere and have an extremely fast reproductive rate. They also do not have to worry about predators after reaching four months of age.
Recently the MDWFP made recommendations to liberalize rules on hunting wild hogs year round. Currently you can kill hogs any time of the year on private property. On public property you can kill hogs during an open season with the ammo and ammunition legal for that season.