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In
Bryan, Texas, the company Helibacon charges hunters about $3,000
to spend two hours in a helicopter, gunning down wild pigs with
everything from assault rifles to fully automatic submachine
guns.
First introduced to North America by early explorers hundreds of
years ago, feral hogs can wreak havoc on agriculture, tearing up
soil and eating plants. The animals can weigh more than 181
kilograms (400 pounds) and travel in herds called sounders,
according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program
specialist Mikayla Killam.
"Really, on the Texas landscape, the only thing that can take on
an adult feral hog is going to be a mountain lion and an
alligator. And we just don't have enough of those in the state
to be managing these populations," she said.
According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, an
estimated 6.9 million feral hogs roamed the United States in
2016 – with more than one-third of that population, 2.6 million
hogs, living in Texas.
Killam said the invasive species is managed by trapping,
conventional hunting on the ground, and aerial gunning by both
wildlife services and commercial companies like Helibacon.
For hunters like Mitchell Birkett, a 21-year-old Texas A&M
University student, going after the hogs was a chance to combine
pleasure with purpose.
"Sure, you get a lot of fun out of it and you get to shoot some
big guns," Birkett said. "But you're also, you know, I think
taking care of a really big problem that faces Texas."
(Reporting by Evan Garcia, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
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