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Minnesota Wild Pigs? New Regulations

emrah1028

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Joined
Aug 31, 2011
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540
Location
Victoria, MN
Anyone seen or heard about wild boar in MN? I was perusing through the 2015 regulations book and right there on Page 2 it says, "it is illegal to possess, hunt, trap or release feral swine." Probably to devalue it (like they do in New York State) and not encourage an industry like in Texas or Florida.

Anyway, has anyone here actually seen a wild boar in MN? I THINK I saw one last year in the WMA beside Valley Fair. I archery hunt small game there weekly, and I swear I saw what looked like a 80ish pound wild pig in the pre-dawn mist as I rounded the corner of the path. I saw it for a split second and it was about 40 to 50 yards away. My buddy was just a ways behind me and didn't see it. He thinks I'm nuts.

But I've hunted pig several times before in Florida and I know it didn't look like a coyote or bear. What's puzzling is there are usually (many) more than one and wild boar sign is unmistakable. But this one fleeting glimpse is all I saw.

I'd think I'm crazy too, but I found it odd that the DNR put the in the "new" regs section this year. Maybe I'm not crazy?

Emrah
 
I've never seen or heard of one around that area. I have heard of rumors of a couple in the SW part of the state but I don't think there are any established populations.

Could it have possibly been a beaver or a giant coon?
 
Looks to me like the key words in the regs are "possess" & "release"
I find it strange though that they wouldn't allow hunting...if someone had released some, you would think they would want them shot before they multiply.
 
Iowa has something similar. It is illegal to release. We can shoot any we see and there are no seasons. There are no known and acknowledged populations. Like was said above I think it is to discourage any from getting started.
 
I haven't seen or heard of any wild boars in MN. I think the regulation was written to keep it that way.
 
2 yrs back, it leaked that the DNR was involved in some kind of "wild hog" removal in the Frontenac area. But I never heard the final scoop.
 
North Dakota had an issue with some wild pigs being released in the badlands awhile back. Shortly after they stopped allowing them to be considered non-game and anyone could shoot them. This reduced the incentive of individuals wanting to release pigs so they could hunt them in the future. There was also an issue with them in the Turtle Mountains but have not heard anything recently.
 
I hunt that area too and never seen a pig. I'm guessing it was a coon.
 
Iowa has something similar. It is illegal to release. We can shoot any we see and there are no seasons. There are no known and acknowledged populations. Like was said above I think it is to discourage any from getting started.

I received a flier from the USDA in cooperation with the IA DNR to report any feral hogs seen or killed a couple of weeks ago.

By definition a feral animal is a wild animal that derives from domestic stock. If a domesticated hog escapes from an enclosure it takes a very short time (days) for it to go feral. Hogs are very prolific breeders and if a farmer decides he is done with his operation or he has a bad fence and hogs escape it will not be long until the population of wild hogs is growing. I do not know of any at the time, but my in-laws are cattle farmers and about 10 years ago something was raising cane with the cow/calves causing them to stampede through fences at night. While my father in law was checking them something came at him through the dark and he shot his 12 gauge from the hip killing a feral hog. There are no hog farms within a 10 mile radius or their farm.

You are exactly right the section in the regulation books is more of a heads up saying that it is possible to see hogs and do not be alarmed, but to take swift action and enjoy those porckchops!
 
I think I have herd there was starting to be some known populations in WI. I would imagine it would only take a short time to spread into MN. I think last year there where several instances where rigs hauling hogs got in accidents and many hogs escaped. I am not sure if they caught them all or not. I have never seen any sign of hogs on any properties that I have hunted in MN or WI. I unfortunately cant say the same about wolves.
 
I know many of the northern tier states have begun planning for the eventual invasion of feral swine. It's certainly on the radars of North Dakota and Montana. There was a big conference a couple of years ago on invasive species, and feral hogs were one of the hot topics. The biggest concern at the time seemed to be that populations are sort of exploding in Canada - Saskatchewan, BC and Ontario have rather widespread feral hogs from what I understand. Even barring local introductions, it would seem it's only a matter of time. Super destructive, and I imagine that destruction may be somewhat amplified in our colder latitudes with shorter growing seasons.
 
From what I've heard, the regulations make it illegal for some hunters/landowners to import feral hogs and transplant them for their hunting purposes. All it would take is a couple of dimwits to truck in a couple of these hogs and release them on public land so they could hunt them, and start a population of them that would wreak havoc on local farmer's croplands and become almost impossible to eradicate. They're a dry land version of the "Flying Carp".
 
I'd love to be able to say, "I know what I saw damnit!" with conviction, but I can't. I'm not sure just what I saw. But I DO know that if it was a raccoon, it would be the biggest, most gigantic raccoon known in the history of mankind. Plus, it trotted, not waddled off and I could see under its belly.

Pig hunting is great fun, but I'd rather hunt them on my trips to Florida and not see them destroy habitat in my home state.

Emrah
 

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