Feral hogs have recently become a problem in middle Tennessee. Although these animals are not native to this area, it is believed that the hogs were brought in illegally for sport hunting. Although this move was ill advised, the wild hogs were trapped and brought into North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee. If not controlled, the overpopulation of these animals will continue to cause extensive damage for residents. Wild hogs have continued to overpopulate areas and in an effort to find new land and areas of food sources, have continued to move west. These hogs are becoming a nuisance as far west as Wilson County in Tennessee. Feral hogs are hunted for sport in east Tennessee, as they have been for many years. With the illegal …show more content…
While making these trails, they also create ruts that can damage farm equipment and endanger the operator of the equipment. This can be not only dangerous but also costly to repair. The way the economy is presently, most farmers cannot afford to deal with costly or unexpected repairs. Wild hogs will also prey on livestock. This is another hit on a farmer’s checkbook. Cattle are the main income for most livestock farmers in middle Tennessee. The diseases spread by theses hogs pose a serious threat to farmers income as well.
As of July 31, 2011, the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency (TWRA) put an end to sport hunting of wild hogs and placed into effect some new hunting regulations to assist in population control of wild hogs. The TWRA has removed wild hogs from big game status and place them in a nuisance category. This implementation technically takes the sport out of wild hog hunting and turns it into eradication efforts. This will allow landowners to use more methods to trap and kill the hogs, methods such as using rifles during daylight hours and live traps with bait. Landowners are also allowed to shoot hogs at night, using bait all year, with no weapon restrictions. During an interview with TWRA Officer, Pete Geesling, he explained some of the new changes:
Landowners, family members legally allowed to hunt the property without a license and up to 10 designees
As of today, 5 more cases of CWD have been found in the state of Missouri, bringing the total confirmed cases up to 38 (KTTN News, 2017). Though the Department is doing everything it can to help stop the spread of the disease, it is crucial to maintain the support of local hunters. When the rule change came to vote concerning hunters’ abilities to bring game animals across state lines was proposed, it was met with resistance from some individuals (Crider, 2017). Though the resilience to the rule change did not stop the momentum of the proposed change, it is this kind of backlash that can lead to bigger problems in the future. The public relations campaign aims to focus on deer hunters. This large group will then be subcategorized into three groups, those in the affected area, out-of-state hunters and businesses affected by CWD.
Hunting is a common activity all around the world, and if performed properly, can have many benefits to us and the rest of the planet. The art of hunting has been around since the beginning of time. Living off of the land used to be a necessity across the world, until the mass production of food came along. In America, people do not usually need to hunt to survive. However, the population of animal species needs to be controlled. Too many of one type of animal can cause a drastic change to any ecosystem. Food supplies decline quickly, leaving many animals without food. Hunting can help keep the population of a group of animals at a good number, making the lives of the other
Predators, hunters, and habitat contribute to the increasing densities of whitetail deer in some locations. The populations of predators, wolves and cougars, have greatly declined in suburban areas. This declination has helped with the increase of the deer population. Since the 1970’s the number of hunters has been declining. This may be because of the number of people that do not believe in recreational, or sport hunting. For some hunting has become a hobby to show off and brag about causing others to be turned off to the whole idea of hunting. Although hunting can be popular it is prohibited in parks,
We haven’t always endured the dramatic effect of these ghastly creatures. Around three hundred years ago the Spaniards, during their explorations introduced the hogs to Texas. The hogs were intended for sustenance and lard for the new settlers here in America. During the fight for Texas’s independence the hogs were left unattended and managed to escape their encasements. That being said, the hogs began reproducing at an alarming rate; now the feral hog
As many people know, poaching has been a common problem around the United States. In Idaho specifically, hunting is considered a pretty big sport, therefore there are quite a few poachers in Idaho. Title 36 Fish and Game, Chapter 14 General Penal Provisions, also known as policy 36-1404, speaks and addresses the problem of poaching in the state of Idaho. “Any person who pleads guilty, is found guilty of or is convicted of the illegal killing or the illegal possession or illegal waste of game animals or birds or fish shall reimburse the state for each animal so killed or possessed or wasted” (Idaho Statutes). For each animal there are different punishments, for example elk have a seven hundred and fifty dollar fine for each animal killed, possessed or wasted. As for caribou, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and moose the fine is much larger, on thousand five hundred dollars for each animal. Any other species of big game that was not named results in a four hundred dollar fine for each animal killed, possessed or wasted (Idaho Statutes). Trophy big game animals result in a much larger punishment. Trophy bighorn sheep, trophy moose, trophy mountain goat, and trophy caribou killed, possessed or wasted result in a ten thousand dollar fine. Trophy elk are a five thousand dollar fine and trophy pronghorn antelope, white-tailed deer and mule deer are all two thousand dollars. Any further animals killed within a year of the first killing will result in the doubling of the original
To make matters worse there are evident racial and socioeconomic factors that have been observed in relation to hog farms in
The fumes and accumulating waste that is pumped into lagoons are constantly leaking out and are polluting the local waterways. The pollutions and fumes are also causing people to become sick and choke from the toxic air. In 1992, family farms would control seventy percent of the hogs that were raised on their farms for consumption (173). By the year of 2007, ninety-five percent of the hog productions were from factory farms (173). This only left 5 percent to small family farms to raise their animals in the way they want it to be. Hauter (2012) argues “ the number of small family-famed hog operations in Missouri dropped from 23,000 in 1985 to 3,000 large ones in 2007, a decline of 87 percent” (180). Even though there has been a dropped in family farm business the number of hogs grown in the state has remained constant. The working conditions that the meatpacking industry is horrendous for the workers and many of them suffer a lot to keep their job. Hauter (2012) argues “according to the “Packaged with Abuse: Safety and Health Conditions….”, Smithfield has engaged in abusive labor practices in several ways” (184). The reported claims from the workers are carpal tunnel syndrome, contusions, blunt traumas from slipping and falling on wet floors, cuts and puncture, infections causing the fingernail to separate from the figure, fractures, amputations, burns, hernias, rashes, and swelling (185). Smithfield has also been
The farmers of long ago took pride in their animals treating them with kindness and care, but today they are kept in small cramp areas with countless other hogs where the ability for movement is often constricted this for the animal causes stress and in turn makes the meat more tough, and sometimes fattier. Some of these animals are filled with hormones that will increase their size making the animals today larger than the ones in the past, but larger doesn’t always mean better. The hormones that they are using can cause illness to some people this unacceptable this is not only unethical, but inhumane to the animal and how they are treated. The small hog farmers are bought out from the big business, but they still allow the farmer to raise the animals under strict guidelines that they must follow this in turn makes the small farmer feel like they “work for the man” and their understanding of the business is often shot down because they have little or no control of their farm they are told how to raise the hogs, how to process them and transport them, but at times they are the ones that have to take the fines if they are not following standing USDA procedures with the big corporation
When Americans go out during hunting season there are a few who abide by the rules and hunt only specific game, such
Humans and animals have been hunting and gathering since the beginning of time. Over time, the number of hunters has decreased as the years go by because of how many people think it is cruel and inhumane to hunt and shoot an animal. Not to mention how much it costs to buy everything you need to legally hunt. Hunting deer for instance, you need to by tags which are to show who shot the deer and if it is the right kind of deer. Tags are based off your age, the type of hunting license you have, and they type of deer you wish to shoot that season like a buck or a doe. Hunters go through classes and proper training to obtain a hunter’s safety license. While taking safety classes for my license, we learned how to properly handle a gun, learned the diverse types of guns and gun laws, proper seasons to which you can hunt and what you can hunt, proper/humane killing techniques, and what things are to be carried out before you are able to start the season.
Animal Use Issues Committee of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies provided a report that states, “Hunting in America is big business, generating more than $67 billion in economic output and more than one million jobs in the United States”(Heath).Hunters are a huge contribution to America’s economy, so much so that it would make a very noticeable negative hit to our economy if hunting were outlawed. This means that hunting is a critical part of many people’s lives and clearly does more good for the nation as a whole than bad. Some may argue that hunting is an expensive and unnecessary sport. While hunting is expensive, but “Economic Importance of Hunting in America” clearly shows that it brings in a large amount of money and is still bringing in more every year. To prevent from losing millions of dollars and taking jobs from thousands of innocent Americans, deer hunting must remain an option, especially for those who have no other
When the topic of environmental problems is brought up in social circles, the issues that usually come to mind would be air pollution and the search for alternative energy; however, there is one issue that is becoming prevalent in a multitude of states including Missouri is the problem of the invasive nature of feral hogs. This paper will discuss the prevalence and disruption of Missouri habitats by these hogs. In addition to providing vital information on the topic, the paper will propose a possible solution for this problem. However, before a solution can be presented, one must be informed of the people who are directly affected by this environmental issue.
The government offers livestock ranchers public land for a significantly decreased price. In the process, wild life in the United States is a casualty of animal agriculture. Several thousands of wild horses are grouped together and run out of their habitat into burros and government facilities. Wolves, bears, coyotes, and mountain lions are trapped, shot, and brutally killed just for living in their natural environment. This wild life is being destroyed for live stock
After reading the article Predator control and rancher’s attitudes, I have decided to reject this paper for the following reasons. Overall, the article submitted for review was poorly written and constructed. While this article has some interesting points regarding livestock owners and their attitudes towards methods of ameliorating the predatory pests. It does not however, present hardly any relevant or important scientific information to the field of recreation management. There is nothing specific that informs the readers as to why anyone inside or outside the recreation management field should care about the ban on poisoning predators. Although poisoning of wild predators could be a potential problem for recreation
Studies have shown in recent years that the amount of problems for game wardens has increased dramatically. In an article by the New York Time’s, William Dicke states that in previous years, economic issues have caused an uptick in poaching (Dicke, para. 7). Due to the sheer number of unemployed and the rates going up, crime is rising as well, and it shows in abnormal crimes like poaching. Since the unemployed have nothing to do, and they have too much time on their hands, the act of poaching is becoming more common. Often the animal is not harvested for its food products, but instead for its antlers or skin. This goes to demonstrate one of the various problems that game wardens often face, poaching.