Hog population control efforts continue in city

After an agreement was signed in June with Wildlife Damage Management Biologist Adam Henry to help control the wild hog population within the city of Graham, control efforts continue.

The Graham Police Department made a post on their social media page Wednesday, May 25, stating they were developing a solution to address the increasing feral hog problem within the city of Graham.

The city, in partnership with the Young County Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Warden and a contractor with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), hosted a town hall meeting Thursday, June 6 at North Central Texas College discussing feral hogs and the damage they caused within the city.

Graham Police Department Chief Brent Bullock recently gave an update to City Manager Eric Garretty on the progress made by Henry. He said since the agreement was made Henry has worked on different ways to rid the city of the animals.

“He has now got different ways that he can try to rid us of these animals, these hogs. He has the ability to set a trap that he’s brought in. (...) He’s got a specific way he’s got to do it to try to get the hogs used to the trap. I mean, they’re pretty smart so he tries to get them used to the trap and then they start coming in regularly to feed. At that point is when he can usually trap them,” Bullock said.

According to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, of the four-to-five million feral hogs in the country, an estimated 2.6 million reside in the state of Texas and can be found in 99% of its counties. The extension service states that feral hogs cause an estimated $52 million in damages to the Texas agricultural enterprises each year as well as damage to landscapes in both suburban and rural areas.

“It comes in cycles. It comes in the spring and in the fall it seems like they get a lot worse. And there will be a break between the two,” Bullock said. “At one point, we were having our officers dispatch them if an officer saw one. (...) Again, it kind of opens us up to a liability as far as shooting a gun. We have to be responsible also. I think until it gets bigger and (...) the state steps up and tries to do something to help control the population, I think it’s just gonna be a constant battle. (...) I’ve heard it compared to fire ants, there’s just gonna just be tons of them and if you try to get rid of them in one spot, then they’re gonna move to another one. So I don’t really know what the solution is at this point other than just to help control the population right now.”

For the full story, see the Wednesday, Dec. 7 edition of The Graham Leader.