UplandFeathers

If you think grouse have a problem with bobcats in NY (see You Know Grouse Hunting Is Good When Bobcats Purr), the ruffs in PA have an issue with pigs—feral swine to be exact. The PA Game Commission has given hunters the ok to shoot feral swine in 64 of the state's 67 counties. PA, like many states in the lower 48, has a problem with pigs, which pose a threat in the form of habitat destruction, disease and property damage. You’ve herd of an invasive species, well this is one and the state feels that allowing hunters to shoot feral swine while hunting other species is a way to control the pig population. So from the end of muzzleloader deer season in mid-January to the beginning of spring wild turkey season and from the end of spring turkey season to the beginning of archery deer season in the fall, hunters have the right to kill a pig. So how many of the snorting cloven-hooved beasties inhabit PA? The state is not certain but guesses that some 3,000 could be rooting around the state. Five hotspots are Bedford, Bradford, Butler, Cambria and Tioga counties. The New York Times recently ran a story on hog hunters in TX using dogs protected in kevlar vest and collars.