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It has been just over 5 years since Willie McNabb, an Arkansas resident, sounded the alarm about feral hogs in a tweet (it was still called Twitter then) that went insanely viral. In that tweet, Willie McNabb asked “Legit question for rural Americans – How do I kill the 30-50 feral hogs that run into my yard within 3-5 mins while my small kids play?”
Legit question for rural Americans – How do I kill the 30-50 feral hogs that run into my yard within 3-5 mins while my small kids play?
— Willie McNabb 🐗 (@WillieMcNabb) August 4, 2019
That post had the Internet hooting and hollering for days… For weeks! But at the time, 30 to 50 feral hogs was a very real danger in the eyes of Willie McNabb and 5 years and 1 month later feral hogs have taken over the town of Gurdon, Arkansas.
Local news have been covering the story for the past few weeks. This story ran on THV11 recently:
The primary issue at hand appears to be less concerned with the safety of kids playing in the yard when 30 to 50 feral hogs bear down on the property and more with the damage that these roving packs of feral hogs are causing.
One Gurdon, Arkansas resident told THV 11 they’ve lived in the town for 14 years and have never once encountered feral hogs until recently. They claimed they’ve spoken with lifelong Gurdon residents who can attest to there never being feral hogs in this Arkansas town throughout their lives. But that’s all changed now.
Hawley said “I had minimal damage a little bit up on the ditch edge and very little down there in the other part of the yard. But as the days continue, they have done more damage, taking over a good portion of that backyard.” Other residents reported more of the same with packs of feral hogs rooting up their property.
Make no mistake about it, roving packs of feral hogs can present very real threats. They can travel in packs of 30 which can make quick work of farmland. Wild hogs have been known to carry up to 45 different diseases. And they can attack if provoked.
Maybe it’s time we give the ’30 to 50 feral hogs’ guy from Arkansas some credit for spotting this problem 5 years out?