Feral Swine

“The climax of pig love is the incorporation of the pig as flesh into the flesh of the human host and of the pig as spirit into the spirit of the ancestors.” (46)

Imagine waking up in the middle of a warm Texas night to the thundering sound of fences being annihilated by a cluster of swine, weighing in at a hefty 300 pounds each and armed with razor-sharp tusks. Within minutes, the rowdy pigs turn a beautifully manicured lawn into a scene fitting of the apocalypse, a yard with numerous piles of de-rooted sod, broken fence posts and mangled bushes. In the state of Texas, feral pigs are considered one of the most destructive species of animals ever introduced to America. The amount of destruction feral pigs produce on a yearly basis in Texas is alarming; almost half a billion dollars in damages to property and crops are estimated every year as a result of the pigs’ actions. Feral pigs are responsible for causing widespread agricultural damage, spreading diseases in the food supply, and harming the state’s ability to feed needy people with their meat.

Over the many years pigs have developed and evolved into what they are today, 30 differing species of exotic and wild hogs that we know today, all around the planet. Wild pigs, even though not native to America still pose and ecological and economic risk to the nation. Feral swine, as descendants from domestic pigs, still pose considerable challenges in population control efforts. (Ditch off 2007, P. 149) Through strict wildlife management plans, monitoring and follow through actions, we can work to strike an advantageous balance with these invasive invertebrates.

Pigs are unable to move in their cages. The baby pig ears, tails are cut off and their teeth are chopped off to prevent them from harming other pigs. They are castrated without any pain killer. The baby pigs are given antibiotics to promote rapid growth. Their body grows, so fast, the legs become crippled. Many pigs are ill, but are kept alive to be shipped off to slaughter to get a profit. The pigs that did not make it to slaughter are shot with a gun to prevent them from eating the farmer’s feed. Pigs are abused by beating them with a gate rod to be moved from one place to another. Most pigs arrive at the slaughter lame or dead from the crowdedness during transporting. Pigs are electrically shocked to move on the killing floor of the slaughtering

In movies you hear some things about guinea pigs. You may hear that they are mostly used as test subjects. You may hear that people eat them in South America. You may think that guinea pigs are gross, long tailed rodents, but they aren’t. In my opinion guinea pigs are cute. And they have no tail. But they are classified as a rodent.

Mice become sexually mature and able to mate in as little as 5 weeks. Generally, sexual maturity is reached in five to eight weeks. In captivity, mice never worry about predators rather they do worry about hazards such as obesity, which can shorten their lives. Similar to mice, the average life cycle of rats is about two to three years. They become sexually matured in two to three months and can reproduce about 7 litters yearly. The gestation period for rats is short also, about three weeks for most of the

ACTG 350 – Case2 Due: Required: Tuesday, November 26th (at the beginning of class). Complete the requirements outlined in the following case developed by the Deloitte Foundation. Your memo should carefully develop arguments supporting your conclusions based on your interpretation of ASC 330-10.Your memo should not exceed 2 pages and be formatted in a professional manner. Please submit one case per group.

Oh no! Those destructive wild pigs and giant goldfish won’t stop wrecking everything. I wish we can stop them now!!! They both got sent into the wild by us, humans, and now they’ll eat anything in sight. They get sent into the wild, populate, and now they’re found all over the U.S. Each one of them gobbles down food anywhere. They’re just like a tornado eating anything up clean with not a single trace of food. You can see that they are an invasive species, but someone finds an effective way to get rid of these animals. They have gone berserk.

In “Pearls and Swine,” Leonard Woolf addresses European superiority by reversing the power dynamics and characteristics of the colonizers and the colonized in order to reveal the ignorance and arrogance that goes into the management of India. In the story, the narrator first describes his unfamiliarity with the European customs after his time in India, as he forgettably chooses the Eastern drink rather than the traditional whisky and soda (Woolf 212). Woolf utilizes the subtle change in culture for the narrator as he first begins his meeting with his superiors to build the argument that there is already a distinct ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ present in Europe; this is what we drink, and that is what they drink. In the larger picture, By distancing Europe from others, it creates the sense of uniqueness and antiquity by believing that they cannot replicated by others; from culture to technologies, from its people to land, from global beliefs to drinks, it inevitably leads to the conclusion of superiority over others simply based on the

Peccaries are found throughout Central and South America, and in the southwestern part of North America (Peccary, 2015). Warthogs are found in most of Africa, south of the Sahara and are widely spread throughout East Africa (Phacochoerus, 2015). Peccaries are closely related to pigs because they both have the same body characteristics such as its eyes corresponding to its head. They are also both part of the same kingdom, phylum, and class (Peccary, 2015). Warthogs are also closely related to a pig because they both have some of the same body characteristics and are part of the same kingdom, phylum, and class (Phacochoerus, 2015).

The area’s wild hogs normally choose to live adjacent to rivers and streams but the unusual precipitation in May and June have driven the animals away from the river and stream banks and closer to populated areas. Recently, the only individual with a license to trap feral pigs, Osvaldo Rojas, told NVCDFW that in recent week he had twice is usual amount of work, with southeast Dallas providing the most requests for his services.

Unfortunately, many pigs are then mistreated and abandoned. What is very sad, is that pigs are a very emotional species similar to humans. They can become depressed and experience many of the things humans do. They are considered very highly intelligent animals. One website said, "They are even smarter than a three-year old child."(web)

Feral species have the capacity to cause significant altering impacts upon biodiversity of an ecosystem (Phillips & Shine. 2006). In the endeavor to ‘Europeanize” Australia, alien invasive species have frequently been introduced, resulting in a negative impact upon the ecosystem (Paini. 2004). The renowned cane toad, Rhinella marina was introduced in the effort to eradicate destructive beetle species that were desecrating sugar cane crops in Australia, during 1935 (Department of the Environment. 2010). Following this introduction, cane toad populations have exploded, now covering over 1,000,000 km2, from northern NSW, to Queensland and the Northern Territory (Phillips & Shine. 2006; Department of the Environment. 2010). This cane toad species

Just a little bigger than a guinea pig, their life span is just about 10 to twenty years. In the open, as herbivores, their diet contains grasses, berries, and plant life.

Free the guinea pigs! Adopt don’t shop! Suffering is everywhere, but I take an optimistic approach this fact of life. For two years I have volunteered at a small animal rescues called Wee Companions. My task is to educate potential adopters on guinea pig care and clean over fifty foul cages every week. I witness people relinquishing badly kept guinea pigs in small cages every weekend and while it is disheartening, I am thankful that the rescue exists and eases the suffering of small animals. The way I see it, easing discomfort is the most meaningful action in life since our current existence is the only one we are sure of, so why not make it more comfortable? This philosophy manifests itself through my volunteer work. If I clean one cage, then