Displaying items by tag: are wild hogs bad?
Save our salamanders: Shoot wild swine in Big South Fork for $5
Wild hogs root in a sensitive area in Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. National Park Service
Tennessee side of Big South Fork best for hunting invasive hogs
Daniel Banks is a public information officer at Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.
ONEIDA — Deer hunting season opened in Kentucky on Sept. 7 and opens in Tennessee on Sept. 28. During these big game seasons, wild hogs may be harvested by licensed hunters with the appropriate weapon that is legal for that specific season.
There is also an extended hog hunting season that lasts from the end of the deer season until the end of February with a weapon that is approved by that state for harvesting big game.
The wild hog is an invasive exotic species that has a significant negative impact on native species and do a great deal of damage to farmlands and residential areas. The damage they cause threatens park resources, including federally listed plants. (Their rooting also damages salamander and other amphibian habitat).
(Check out this video of natural pest control: A bear eating a hog in Great Smoky Mountains National Park).
Hunters are invited to go whole hog on the Tennessee side of Big South Fork
Wild hogs are seen rooting in a sensitive area. Hog season opens later this month in Big South Fork. National Park Service
ONEIDA — Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area this week announced regulations for those wanting to kill invasive wild hogs during the 2022 fall and winter seasons.
Most hog populations within the protected areas of BSF are believed to be present on the Tennessee side of the park, which spans the Kentucky border. Feral hogs have been present in East Tennessee for generations. They destroy local flora and fauna mainly by rooting in low-lying mountain and valley areas. They are especially fond of salamanders, many species of which are in grave decline. In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, hunters are regularly deployed to cull hogs throughout the park.
“The wild hog is an invasive exotic species that has a significant negative impact to native species and do a great deal of damage to farmlands and residential areas. The damage they cause threatens park resources including federally listed plants,” according to a release from the park service.