Controversy over wild pigs keeps growing and so does boar population.
Ever since an accidental release in 2006 of wild pigs onto Indian reservation land in the County of San Diego, boar have been clandestinely reproducing there. Now their numbers are strong enough to manifest their presence in one way or another – mostly by being run over by cars or by getting 'accidentally' shot by local hunters.
The presence of wild pigs so close to San Diego and in the extreme south of Southern California is both a boon to boar hunters and a curse to ranchers. While hunters and some of the local culinary establishments welcome the newcomers, the general consensus seems to be that the wild pigs are a danger to humans and destructive to the environment. Naturally with so little exposure to wild pigs and their habits most opinions rely on hearsay or reports in some of the local media. Those articles in turn get much of the information and opinions gathered from wildlife, park and DFG officials. Naturally, that introduces an official anti wild pig bias into the equation.
The controversy recently took another surprising turn according to an article by Ed Zieralski in the San Diego Union Tribune. It was published in late May of 2010. Bob Bowden, a local 'accomplished bird hunter', encountered a wild pig in high grass. He could not see the animal clearly enough to determine the sex of his prey. But he shot anyway from about 100 yards away, reports the Union-Tribune. The game taken turned out to be a sow. And herein lies the controversy that now has ignited over this shooting. To shoot a sow or not to shoot a sow is the question that divides the factions.
While pro-hunting forces, here represented by the local restaurateur Matt Rimel, simmer over the take of a life giving sow, others welcome every opportunity to reduce the number of boar running all over creation in San Diego. At least that is the impression one gets from reading the various articles on the subject.
The Union-Tribune quotes Rimel:
“Restaurateur Matt Rimel, also an avid sportsman and pig hunter, wondered what Bowden was thinking.
“If we want these hogs around, we don’t need to be shooting sows in the spring,” Rimel said.”
A “remorseful” yet defiant Mr. Bowden takes a different tack. He is quoted in the above article as having stated:
“I just aimed and shot the largest one . . . Personally, I don’t have the same sympathy for these wild pigs as Mr. Rimel. Wild pigs are not indigenous to this area. Apparently some of the local Indian reservations have released these pigs for profitable guide hunting. They can do what they please without tags on reservation land. Most of the people I’ve talked to consider wild pigs a scourge, and some hunters don’t consider it honorable hunting. Wild Pigs multiply like rabbits and in a few years, with no known predators other than man, they could possibly be out of control here in San Diego County. Catalina Island and other areas of California are a good example.”
Well, well, well, Catalina Island is not exactly a good example to prove his point. While it is true that the island had a healthy pig population at one time, it was quickly eradicated after the Conservancy took over wildlife management on the island. Officially there are no more wild pigs on Catalina Island.
And there is another fly in the ointment of Bowden's rationale. Boar hunters will of course disagree vigorously with being classified as hunters who engage in an activity that is not “honorable”. What is dishonorable about hunting wild pigs, I ask Mr. Bowden. In his opinion they are after all not indigenous to the San Diego area and considered by most a scourge! Don't they deserve to be hunted much like a flock of incoming ducks? Shoot first, ask questions later.
Could it be less honorable than, say, bird hunting or deer hunting? Do I sense a misguided pride that makes some hunters more equal than others? Such as bird hunters?
Be that as it may, in California wild pigs are game animals with no seasons, bag limits or restrictions on the taking of female animals. As long as Mr. Bowden had a valid California hunting license, pig tags and a weapon firing centerfire cartridges with softnose or expanding bullets, a non-lead projectile (if in Condor Zone) and hunted within the official shooting hours and on land he was authorized to access, he was legally within his rights to take the sow. He has no reason to be apologetic.
However, being an experienced bird hunter yet with very little or no big game hunting experience, he may have violated one of the fundamental laws of hunting and for any shooting to boot: Shoot only at a target that you can clearly see and identify. Target identification is one of the basics of safe hunting.
Would he have been within his rights if he had shot at a deer in tall grass that he could not see well enough to determine sex and minimum antler size? No.
And what if I had been inclined downwards, in my dark clothes, looking for that rare desert flower that grows only a few inches off the ground? He might have shot me because I would definitely have been the largest thing around.
But we understand. He got carried away by the sight of the wild pig and the real prospect of harvesting one of those destructive and enormously dangerous beast that give a man the opportunity to prove his manly courage. And tell about it.
Here is the serious question: How much damage does it do to the overall game population when you shoot a female animal? The answer depends on which side you are on. Hunters would and should avoid shooting females if they want to have healthy game populations in the future. Non-hunters, landowners and those suffering from damage done by the animals do not mind the taking of future mothers hoping that it will curtail the expansion of a game population.
In times of plentiful food and rapidly expanding boar populations selective culling of game on the basis of sex and age, makes a lot of sense. Starvation time is another matter and requires hunters to target a different group of animals within the overall population to assure survival of enough animals capable of rapid reproduction when conditions improve.
Wing shooters do not face this dilemma. That might explain the decision of our hunter.
But wait, there is more to this story. We have numerous factions with diverging interests. First there are the interests of the native tribes that introduced the pigs to create income from hunting and guiding on their reservations. The pigs did not respect reservation boundaries.
Then we must consider local landowners and ranchers who certainly appreciate boar meat as a welcome addition to their menu. They do not want eager wild pig hunters from all over Southern California to run roughshod over their properties and take 'their' boar.
Let us not forget wildlife managers and park rangers who loathe seeing their pristine environment trampled by reckless foraging wild pigs.
And, last but not least, we also have anti-hunting forces eager to exploit any misstep by those that murder Bambi and Miss Piggy.
This makes for an explosive situation as you can tell by some of the more virulent comments of local residents to my earlier posts about the topic.
Quite an interesting mix of characters. I will follow the story as it develops and tell you all about it. A fellow hunter who lives in that general area has been out looking but was so far unable to spot signs of the presence of wild pigs in areas they are rumored to occupy.
The article in The San Diego Union Tribune as published on SignOn San Diego has some interesting clues as to the direction of the expansion of the San Diego wild boar.
Riverside, sharpen your knives and load your ammo! Here come wild pigs again.
PJJ
