Sunday, December 14, 2008

Feral pigs in the Finger Lakes

What rock have I been living under?

Wild boars in New York State.

Hunter conversation here..

I'm assuming the new "wild" population is due to escapes from game farms, as the population seems localized and I'm not aware migration from the south has reached this far. I'm sorry, but the practice of non-resident species hunted in fenced game farms really needs to end. If you want to hunt, put on your insulated undies and do it the hard way--outside of fences. Inevitably, the "fenced" animals get out, and now this is what we have...another once-noble animal that becomes a "nuisance species" causing real damage in a habitat where it never normally would have been found.

In a short internet search I found all sorts of fenced game preserves near me, one just over the border in PA that advertises buffalo of all things. Do you know how hard it is to shoot a buffalo? It's like shooting a cow, people. If you see one hanging on someone's wall, you have my permission to point and snigger.

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