News

20 Feb

New book published covering all aspects of wild pig biology, ecology, damage, management

NRI's Private Land Stewardship and Engagement Associate Director Dr. Jim Cathey co-authored Chapter 15: "Wild Pigs in South-Central North America" providing scientific research and a review of management practices within a geographical context, in the comprehensive volume Invasive Wild Pigs in North America: Ecology, Impacts, and Management addressing all aspects of wild pig biology, ecology, damage, and management.

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20 Nov

USDA Announces Funding to Control Feral Swine in Texas

USDA — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today it is awarding more than $1.4 million to fund three pilot projects to control feral swine in Texas.

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13 May

Wild Pig Wars: Controversy Over Hunting, Trapping

While Louisiana has a stout wild pig population, and Missouri presumably has a relatively small population, Texas wears a painful crown at the top of the porcine heap in the U.S., as home to roughly 3 million wild pigs. The Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute (NRI) places the control rate to maintain wild pig populations at 66%. In stripped-down parlance: Texas needs to remove approximately 2 million wild pigs per year to keep 3 million wild pigs on the landscape...

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6 Mar

Houston-area suburbs see uptick in feral hog populations destroying streets, property

Houston Chronicle — If you have noticed more feral hogs in your Houston-area neighborhood recently, you are not alone. Neighbors across the Greater Houston report the wild animals are more frequently making their way into their subdivisions and streets, leaving properties destroyed in their wake.

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28 Jan

Wild pig control read around the world

Read how NRI's wild pig team expertise is traveling around the world to support local land managers without language barriers.

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1 Dec

Home Locator: Website designed to get a better view of wild pig problem

Tyler Paper: With 79 percent of the state considered potential habitat wild pigs have become a costly problem in both rural and urban areas of Texas. Texas A&M’s Natural Resources Institute has created a website to help better map the problem.

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29 Nov

Texas A&M launches new online tool for reporting feral hogs

National Hog Farmer: Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute has released a new online tool to help in the growing effort to control the feral hog population in the state. The wild pig website offers Texas landowners and homeowners an easy-to-use tool to report sightings of feral hogs and the damage that may have occurred from them.

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28 Nov

Seen Any Wild Hogs Lately? Tell the State

KETR: The Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute is making it easier to report wild hog sightings in the state. The NRI has a new webpage where Texas residents can provide details of how many hogs they saw, where they saw them, and what kind of damage the animals cause – such as crop or fence damage, wallowing, or rubbing.

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20 Nov

Wild Pig Fall Season Newsletter

This edition discusses aerial gunning as a tool for wild pig control as well as available options for Texas landowners and wildlife managers. Also addressed is research related to various baiting and head gate options for trapping wild pigs.

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12 Nov

New Reporting Tool for Wild Pigs

Thanks to Texas Farm Bureau's Gary Joiner and team for helping share the news on the Texas Wildlife Radio Show about the new reporting tool for Texans with NRI's Dr. Jim Cathey. Listen to learn more about what our wildlife and state researchers are working on to understand the scope and size of the wild pig problem in Texas. 

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8 Aug

New Summer Wild Pig Newsletter

The Summer Wild Pig Newsletter is here! In this issue, we discuss the place unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have in wild pig management, the many functions of wallowing, our brand new website and much more!

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28 Jun

KXVA interviews NRI's hog population expert Josh Helcel

KXVA Fox15 in Abilene talked with Josh Helcel about new traps used to combat the millions of wild pig negatively impacting Texas. 

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16 Apr

Spring Wild Pig Newsletter is here!

In this issue, readers will learn about the effects of abatement efforts on wild pig behavior, the impact wild pigs have on water quality, and get the opportunity to read trending articles and much more!

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28 Mar

Houston Chronicle: The ins and outs of feral hog hunting in Texas

Texas is home to the largest feral hog population in the United States, with an estimated 4 million hogs statewide. The Houston Chronicle shares local land owners' difficulty with wild pigs and resources from Texas A&M AgriLife.

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10 Jan

Despite efforts, feral hogs continue to wreak havoc on local cemetery

Read up on associate director Jim Cathey's insight for The Eagle on College Station's feral hog residents—some of Texas' most formidable foes have taken their destructive tendencies to the College Station Memorial Cemetery and Aggie Field of Honor.

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3 Nov

Bastrop County Soil and Water Conservation District to host wild hog management workshop

Join the Bastrop County SWCD in McDade, Texas for their annual Field Tour to learn about wild hog management practices. Speakers will discuss the effects hogs have on the landscape, different trapping systems, and the rules and regulations for controlling populations on your property. 

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2 Oct

Fall Wild Pig Newsletter is Here!

In this sixth issue, landowners will learn about wild pigs and mast crops, view the best of the wild pig photo and video contest, read about the origin of the wild pig species and get a peek at trending articles and videos. 

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3 Jul

Summer Wild Pig Newsletter is Here!

In this fifth issue, landowners will learn about county-based cooperative wild pig abatement, see an evaluation of contraceptive viability in wild pigs and view trending articles and videos. 

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1 Mar

Spring Wild Pig Newsletter is Here!

In this fourth issue, landowners will learn about wild pig control concerns, about considerations for hunting with dogs and get a peek at trending articles and videos. 

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3 Oct

Fall Wild Pig Newsletter is Here!

In this third issue, landowners will learn about white-tailed deer management with considerations for wild pig control, read about considerations for the ethical harvest of wild pigs and get a peek at trending articles and videos.

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1 Jul

Summer Wild Pig Newsletter is Here!

In this second issue, landowners will get to see an urban wild pig video series, learn about the seasonal spotlight, emerging technology and innovation in wild pig management and hear about upcoming programs.

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1 Mar

Spring Wild Pig Newsletter is Here!

In this first issue, land stewards will meet the Wild Pig team, read the seasonal spotlight, learn about new Wild Pig continuing education courses and landowner cooperatives, hear about upcoming programs and much more...

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