JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has tallied up feral hog elimination numbers from January through December 2018. The final number is 9,365 feral hogs removed from the state’s landscape by MDC, partner agencies, and private landowners. In 2017, 6,561 feral hogs were removed.
MDC and partners have implemented a new strategy to feral hog elimination, dividing the areas where feral hogs are present into elimination areas 1 through 6. Trapping is currently ongoing in each zone. Zone one, near the Harry S. Truman Reservoir and Stockton Lake, is benefiting from a significantly reduced population of feral hogs. The goal continues to be complete elimination of feral hogs from Missouri.
Mark McLain, MDC’s feral hog elimination team leader, said MDC is partnering with many agricultural and conservation groups, as well as hundreds of private landowners, that are all committed to eliminating feral hogs from Missouri. Landowners and the public are a crucial element of this effort, especially since most land in Missouri is privately owned.
“With one sounder of hogs capable of damaging 10-25 acres in a single night, feral hogs impact the productivity and profitability of Missouri farmers and ranchers,” said Gary Marshall, chairman of agriculture coalition for Missouri Farmers Care. “The success of MDC and partners reducing hog numbers, especially around the Warsaw area, has provided relief to landowners. We look forward to continued collaboration leading to additional hog population reductions in 2019.”
“We’ve been very strategic in our efforts, focusing on removal of whole groups of feral hogs at a time, before moving onto another area,” said McLain. “This strategic approach is important because if we leave even a few feral hogs behind in an area, they can reproduce quickly and put us back where we
