TP&W Hog poison

[Wmwendler]

There are several hurdles to face when it comes to poisoning hogs. 

#1  There is lots of red tape when it comes to poisons.  The liability of accidentally poisoning a deer or other wildlife, which would certainly happen if that bait was put out for hogs, is something that TPWD and the general hunting public would not accept.  Sure they are doing the research, but that does mean it will ever see wide spread use.  I also cannot tell you how many research projects are done just for the sake of doing it.  Academic types use these research projects as a means of keeping them selves in a job or in getting a degree.  They very likely know that the poison method they are researching will never see wide spread use. They also very likely don't care.  This kind of dead end research is very common in academia.  If this was a feasible option it would already be in wide spread use.  The fact of the matter is land owners have faced legal repercussions for poisoning hogs.  That is a clear legal precedent in the opposite direction. 

#2 hog hunting generates hunting license sales........hunting license sales generates revenue for TPWD...........TPWD will not put a self imposed hurtin on their pocket book.........TPWD will not recommend the wide spread use or legalization of this poison.

#3 hogs are smart they will find a way to survive.   And notice they said it is only lethal in high doses.  How much does a hog have to eat of this stuff to die?  If that is their concern in a confined situation.  Imagine getting that to happen in a free range situation.

#4 cattle are expensive........replacing that 1800 dollar braford cow that was about to calve, that you fed for 6 months and have god knows how much money worth of hay and supplements invested in, that some how ate some poison, might be a little hard to stomach.  A scenario like that would be quick to turn of a rancher to the idea of poisoning hogs when the potential damage to a ranch prevented in terms of dollars is far less than the potential risk of loss in revenue if a cow or two got ahold of the poison.

Waylon

[matt_aggie04]

Well said Waylon. I'm reminded of a propane burner implement we built in college to use for weed removal. Among other countless things we built for grad student projects that have no real application but a ton of money and time where invested in to. If there is even the slightest chance of another animal eating this and getting sick or dying, it will never see widespread use. Finding a way to disrupt their reproductive cycle is where they will likely find a viable breakthrough but even then I question how they will administer it to only one species.