Nearly 10,000 feral hogs were removed in 2021 by the Missouri Feral Hog Elimination Partnership. Since 2016 more than 54,000 feral hogs have been eliminated from the state.

 This partnership is made up of 13 federal and state agencies.

Feral hogs are an invasive species and create damage to the landscape. They can singularly kill smaller native animals, but mostly they impact native species by disrupting their habitat.

The elimination process starts with help from the public. Landowners will get in contact with the Missouri Feral Hog Elimination Partnership and let them know they have seen signs of feral hogs on their property. Representatives from the group come out and search for wallows, torn up ground from the feral hogs’ hooves, and other damage to the landscape. Traps are then set and bated with rancid corn. Once the feral hogs are trapped, they are shot.

Dan Zarlenga with the Missouri Department of Conservation said the feral hog meat is not used. Whereas deer meat can be eaten or donated to a meat pantry. Zarlenga said there is too much concern over diseases with feral hog meat. So the carcasses are put back out onto the landscape and left to the elements.

“I’m really proud of the progress that the Partnership trappers have made,” said the Partnership Incident Commander Jason Jensen. “In 2021, we covered over double the number of acres and worked with double the number of landowners. Despite the increased effort and efficiency, the number of hogs removed was down by nearly 3,000 hogs. We anticipated we’d get to this point but not necessarily this quick. This is a positive indicator of the progress being made and a declining hog population.“

Feral hogs are primarily found in southern Missouri and across at least 17 counties.

(Story by Monica Ryan, Ozarks First)