By Julie Tomascik
Editor
Wild hogs are a Texas-sized problem that’s growing exponentially with each litter.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) approval of Kaput Feral Hog Bait, a warfarin-based product, looked to change that for Texas landowners. The pesticide, which causes hogs that consume it to die of internal bleeding, was approved Jan. 3, 2017 by EPA under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.
In February, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller announced an emergency rule that would have restricted its use to licensed, trained pesticide applicators.
But a state judge issued a temporary restraining order against the rule on March 2, lifting the additional restrictions added by Miller.
Now, two bills have been filed by Texas lawmakers. HB 3541, authored by Rep. Lynn Stucky, and SB 1454, filed by Sen. Kirk Watson, add another layer of legal wrangling.
Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) opposes both bills and testified before the Texas House Committee on Public Health today about concerns with the legislation.
“While this bill is well intended, it goes too far by delaying the use of a product that has been studied and approved by the EPA,” Tracy Tomascik, TFB associate director of Commodity and Regulatory Activities, testified before the committee. “Water quality, food and fiber production and quality of life and health are of utmost importance to Texas Farm Bureau and the current feral hog population jeopardizes all of this. Landowners simply need this tool.”
To date, two studies have been conducted on Kaput and a third is currently underway.
“We should not pick and choose which EPA-approved pesticides used within their label should be held to more testing,” Tomascik said.
That’s what would be needed if HB 3451 and SB 1454 pass.
The bills outline requirements for state agency or university research before the pesticide could be used, which would fall on taxpayers to fund. The controlled field trials—which would also assess the consequences to property owners, hunters and agriculture—would essentially repeat the EPA-approved studies that have already been conducted.
“Kaput Feral Hog Bait has proven safe and effective in pen settings and in field trials—both of which were conducted in Texas,” Tomascik said. “EPA holds high standards in approving pesticides, herbicides and other items that are used in the environment to make sure ancillary effects are minimal.”
The Colorado-based company, Scimetrics, that manufactures Kaput, recommends using a Hoghopper-like feeder. The weighted lids of the feeder allow hogs to access the bait, while preventing consumption by non-target species. The pesticide must be dispensed through this feeder or one of a similar type.
Prior to supplementing with Kaput, the applicator must condition the hogs to routine feeding from the bait station. Carcasses must be buried 18 inches below the surface. If that’s not possible due to environmental conditions, other state and locally approved methods would suffice.
Per the label, grazing should be restricted in areas around the baited feeders until at least 90 days after removing the pesticide.
Tomascik noted in his testimony that farmers and ranchers have long experienced damages and the need for a new method to control the ever-growing population is necessary.
“Through the use of firearms, traps and state-sponsored events, we have been successful in terminating only a very small portion,” Tomascik said. “We cannot continue on this fight with only the current methods.”
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service estimates 2 million wild hogs are in the Lone Star State, causing about $52 million in damage annually to agriculture.
The invasive species can be found in 230 of the 254 Texas counties.
In addition to testifying before the House Committee on Public Health, TFB submitted a letter with other agricultural organizations to the Texas House of Representatives.
Other groups joining TFB included the Corn Producers Association of Texas, Plains Cotton Growers, South Texas Cotton and Grain Association, Texas Grain Sorghum Association, Texas Pest Management Association and the Texas Wheat Producers Association.
They stressed the need for a solution.
“Combatting these pests is not new. Despite the best efforts through trapping, hunting a
Ranchers will not be able to nor will they bury all the dead hogs. Any Thoughts toward feral hog control are good,just that some may be better than others.
Scott is right—the dead feral hogs will absolutely not ALL be buried. My question is what will happen to the wildlife that consumes their carcasses? Also, what’s to keep raccoons and other critters out of these bait stations? Many other long term consequences to think on here in addressing this huge problem.
The bait is a very low concentration of warfarin at .005 and hogs are highly sensitive. If another critter is able to defeat the bait feeder then they would have to consume a heck of a lot daily for a number of days depending on the critter species to reach a lethal dose. Hogs are so sensitive that it takes very little bait over a 4 day period to be effective. therefor the warfarin concentration is very low in the carcass and for a scavenger to be harmed from eating a hog carcass – they would need to consumer extraordinary amounts of hog livers to be harmed.
so…rather than implement a “bounty” system, or possibly a program to donate meat (hunters for the hungry)Texas Farm Bureau would prefer using poison. Makes total sense to me…like robbing Peter to pay Paul. Remove ANY other incentives to kill and/or trap hogs by taking what most likely WAS edible meat & risk contaminating it. Maybe the EPA studies (all TWO of them) are enough proof for Texas Farm Bureau but not necessarily for me. Kaput will not be allowed on my property…moot point – small land owner & hogs cover a lot of territory. Also a member of Texas Farm Bureau but doesn’t mean I agree with this idiocy. “Water quality, food and fiber production and quality of life and health are of utmost importance to Texas Farm Bureau and the current feral hog population jeopardizes all of this. Landowners simply need this tool.” poison??
No one is forcing you or your neighbor to use it. However, guns, traps, snares, dog chasin, helicopter assault and any other creative way to kill hogs has been ineffective in so many cases that the populations continues to grow. Those situations need a new tool. Kaput gives that option to folks that have no other measure to deploy.
I agree with both Scott & Kelli. Currently, as we kill these hogs, there are far too many to consider a large burial or even individual burials. So what happens to the remaining wildlife “when” they do consume the dead hogs? Will burning the carcasses eliminate the poisons in the hogs or will it still remain?
It’s not feasible to bury all the dead carcasses, as just finding them presents many challenges. A solution is needed NOW. I’ve racked up thousands of dollars in repairs bills for equipment alone hitting the holes they leave behind, Not to even mention the damage to field and crops. It’s virtually cost prohibitive to repair the 2-3 ft deep by 3-4 ft wide holes they leave behind. Requires dozer work, and or equipment to level fields I do not have or can afford.
I don’t really care how or what, just get something out there. Ten years of out of control hog populations is enough for me. Our trapping efforts are only temporary, and shooting is a ridiculous notion for control. You don’t even see them in the day any more, and if you do, you might get a shot at one hog out of a 30-40 pack.
I agree with both comments above. I do not support the warfrin based bait/kill method. I don’t see it being the best solution. I’m in full support of the fact we must do something to combat the damage the hogs are doing, but just do not feel this is the best way to do it. I don’t have a solution, but there are better ways. We have not seen nor heard of any incentives around our area for catching or disposing of them? I’m curious what programs have been “tried”. Our hog buyers are barley buying them, so people must catch and dispose of them, which just adds another layer of expense these pest have caused us.What will the long term effects be when another animal consumes the carcass of the ones that got away, or that were not disposed of properly? What about the animals that get into the feeders that it’s not meant for? And who can afford to leave a pasture empty for 90 days after it’s finished treating? Not many of us.I have very mixed emotions and concerns, and am not sure what the solution is, but I feel strongly this is not the answer.
We have plenty of hogs on our place. They’re out of control for sure. But this isn’t the right solution. The use of Wayfarin for this purpose is misguided at best and a serious threat to domestic animals and other wildlife at worst. “Follow the money.” There’s gotta be a financial connection in how this horrible idea is being proposed.
As a long-time Texas Farm Bureau member I strongly oppose this method of hog control. The notion that bins will only able to be opened by hogs and a “requirement” that hog carcasses will be buried 18″ is disconnected from reality. Create an economic incentive for hunting/trapping hogs to be processed for meat and we’ll have a lot greater success.
Would an economic incentive not also incentivize maintaining a robust wild hog population that feeds off the neighbor trying to live off the same land? If someone else paid your manufacturing bill (fed the hogs with the crop they planted) and you caught and sold them on your property – that would be a great deal for you but not a great deal for your neighbor.
why not develop a birth control bait? eating a poison that is slow acting is asking for trouble down the road. I know that ALL hogs can not found and buried faster than the scavengers would feed on the carcass. what problems would happen if a person consumed the meat, any studies done? offer free hunting and give the meat to shelters.
Novel idea and I like it. At least novel to me. The whole problem is the uncontrollable in birth rate. Incentives for extermination, along with a sterilization program seems like the right path.
Birth control would pose the same problem proposed – how do you keep it from other species? And its been researched for many years in many ways and in many countries. That solution still evades scientists. I’m still supporting that option but it’s not here yet and the hog problem is only growing.
Birth control bait for hogs, great safe idea. Didn’t the Aussies get rid of out of control rabbits that way?
I don’t think this is the answer. There are too many problems with this bait. I think the money spent on this problem could be used for a bounty to be paid out to farmers and rancher for each hog killed on their property.
How about a fee assessed for each wild hog killed and processed for meat or dog food that gets put into a fund to help the landowners with routine feral hog damage? If you make money on wild hogs then pay up because they’ve taken from a landowner down the creek or across the field. Right now private industry is looking for ways to help but it won’t be done for free.
This is a horrible way to die. Three to five days or more before an animal dies from internal bleeding if it gets a lethal dose. I have used this product for rat control when they were run out of their habitat due to urban sprawl. I’ve found dying rats in my yard that were breathing heavy and only able to wiggle a bit while they awaited death. I would shoot them with a pellet rifle to put them out of their misery and then dispose of them where any animals couldn’t get them. I don’t like rats or feral hogs and strive to exterminate them from my area without uncontrolled poisoning. I don’t eat them but plenty of folks do. Another issue is, if someone’s poisoned hog gets off in my stock tank and is dead or dying I’ve got to get it out and bury it at my expense. The label says its a violation of the law not to adhere to the instructions.. if its so safe why all the instructions, precautions and threats? And then there’s the liability law suits. Oh, I’m sure there’s some pretty sharp folks out there that have all the quick answers but for myself, its just not worth the risk. The conventional methods work for me. .
After reading the product label and analyzing the risk I don’t want anything to do with it. Anything that starts out with it’s a violation of federal law isn’t for me. Nor do I want someone else’s dying or dead hog in my stock tank. I’ve poisoned rats with Wafarin and have found dying rats heaving for breath and an occasional wiggle waiting for death. I put them out of their misery and dispose of them. Horrible way to die even for rats. Hard to do with a 500 pound hog stuck in the mud.. I don’t want someone else’s poisoned hog dying in my stock tank. My attorney said the liability risk is just way too high. Conventional means and methods work so that’s my choice.
“We should not pick and choose which EPA-approved pesticides used within their label should be held to more testing,” Tomascik said.
Um, maybe that’s ok for “pests” that don’t get consumed by humans. Nobody that I know harvests armyworms, grasshoppers, or locusts for their food. Poisoning hogs, which people hunt for food, is a whole other ballgame. This initiative would essentially release rat poison into the food supply. Very, very bad idea.
Good thing there is a dye in the bait that turns the internal tissues blue after consumption. Green eggs and ham is one thing but avoid the blue stuff. And about rat poison – the over the counter poison that’s available at lows is 5 times the concentration of the hog bait and it does not have a dye. I’d hate for someone to not have the right tool for the right job.
I’m more confident that a bait manufactured for the purpose of feral hog control that includes a blue dye is a better alternative than the dismal failure of hunting, trapping, snaring, chasing with hogs, and helicopter assaults that happen daily for decades.
This is a bad idea! FIFRA Act doesn’t cover consequences of misuse.
The negative impact of feral hogs on agriculture and our environment is huge. Shooting and trapping doesn’t work. Now that we have a viable solution let’s use it!
Farmers and ranchers need better tools to fight the hog problem. The current methods of trapping and hunting may reduce the problem but they do not solve it. I have paid people to trap hogs and they have caught a lot of hogs in my fields but there are still hogs left to come and dig up the corn we have recently planted. After working a long day planting we go out in the middle of the night and check every field we think may be a problem with a thermal scope and have killed some of the hogs that way. However, they still return to damage the crop. In the last 2 weeks I have only been able to sleep a few hours a night and have spent about $10,000 replanting what was damaged and even replanting what we replanted after it was damaged again. Once this corn starts making ears the hogs will return to damage it again but it will be much harder to hunt them due to the size of the corn and the dollar value of the damages will be much higher. So I don’t think burying hogs will take nearly as much time or money as the current things we are doing. Also, the bait stations have a weighted lid that is sized to only allow the hogs to open it. We need this tool. We are losing this battle. It is getting worse year by year.
If they design a bait with poisin why can’t we design a bait using a contraceptive? Apply it from January to October if you are concerned about deer injesting it. I have hunted feral hogs and have the scars to prove how hard brush busting is to get to them. Think about retrieval of a bloated carcasses to bury. We have better ideas than this.
There’s no way on Earth that I want this product to be released for use. It’s a ridiculous idea. There’s a big dairy on the north side of my property who is of dubious consciousness and if he uses it and those hogs wander over to my place and die, then what!!!??? This idea is beyond being ill-conceived. It’s not even ill-conceived. It’s brain dead. Yes, I’m a member of Hale County Farm Bureau. Farm Bureau does NOT serve a lot of use anymore. They’re all politicians running for local re-election just like inside the beltway. Think about what I just said.
The one thing we know conclusively about wild/feral hogs is that hunting, trapping and bounties do not work. The Tx House just passed a draconian budget that cuts most everything in the light of a budget shortfall. Counties that try bounties run out of money quickly. Everyone likes the idea, but no one wants to pay for it. A sow will drop anywhere from 4 to 12 pigs 114 days from conception and come in heat five days after. She can do this three times a year. There is no way to shoot enough to matter. Other bounty species cannot reproduce like this. This is an adaptable, dangerous and prolific invasive species that causes great ecological harm, feeding on nesting birds, snakes, the young of burrowing species, newborn livestock and others. I can’t imagine that many who’ve commented here would approve of any chemical control. Left unattended, these populations will continue to grow. Soon enough, it will be everyone’s problem.
I attended the Committee meeting last night in Austin, Texas. I asked to speak as I am a farmer and rancher with a terrible Feral Hog problem. There were 11 speakers ahead of me that included Guide Hunters, two Vets, an attorney, land owners and a person who raises Falcons. 9 of these speakers were making money with Feral Hogs and was adamantly opposed to Wafarin to control the population. I was the last speaker and I would have been better off just stating that my opinion would not matter. You could see the Committee had already made up their mind. there were so many horror stories out of the mouths of these folks meant to scare everyone to death. Comments from the attorney (who publicly stated) he had three cases of litigation concerning Feral Hogs and he did not want this product made available. He loves hogs. He stated that if a woman were to shoot a hog that had eaten a bite of this bait and touched it she would immediately have an abortion if she was pregnant. This is totally false! The fact is that if a woman were pregnant and were to consume a large dose of Wafarin she could have an abortion. Scare talks went on and on with stories like this. He stated that there are 50,000 licenced Pesticide operators in Texas (farmers & ranchers) and they could and would get this bait and distribute it to all the neighbors creating total death of all pets and cause widespread abortions. Truth of the matter is, we as Licensed Applicators would not be able to purchase Wafarin. Only USDA or TDA personal that have been schooled could handle this product and would set and Bait the special traps. I have studied this product and find that the EPA, FDA, Texas A & M wildlife services,and Texas Dept of Agriculture all agreed Jan. 3, 2017 that this product was safe when used correctly. There has been a 10 year research on this product testing it on every wildlife available with no adverse effects.The dose of Wafarin in these baits is so low no animal or bird that might eat a poisoned hog would die. PERIOD!! Remember, Wafarin (Coumadin is the name used when prescribed to humans) has been used since 1984 to prevent bloodclots. Thousands of lives have been saved with this product when used properly. To sum it all up, the committee was convinced that Farmers & Ranchers were totally unqualified and could not read or comprehend the instructions! This Committee is going to vote to pass this bill to spend Thousands and Thousands of our Taxpayer money to hire a Research Firm to study this product again. it has been studied to death since 1954 when it was approved as Rat Bait. So, if this Bill is not voted down in the House, Kaput is Kupat!
Ok I agreed with those baits but how would we know if we shot a hog that did not get the bait.would it hurt us or kill us too?
In a matter of hours a hog that eats the bait will turn blue. It will start light blue and intensify to looking like Papa Smurf at 24 hours. A study to document how blue they get by the hour after consumption is underway right now.
We fairly regularly incur hog damage (mostly rooting) on our farm and ranch property (including our unfenced back yard) and we’d prefer it didn’t happen. Accordingly I’ve spent considerable time over the years in “hog schools” put on by various orgs including Texas Parks and Wildlife, County Extension agents, Texas and Southwestern Cattleraisers Association, Noble Foundation, etc., have followed the State’s toxin development program for years, and am adamantly opposed to the use of toxins to control the population of these expressly and very widely “for human consumption” animals.
If the special interest lobbies favoring the use of taxpayer money for dealing with their personal problems are ultimately going to prevail, utilizing as lobbying tools our own associations, like Farm Bureau, I’d far prefer those subsidies be used to fund/incent commercial harvest style and smartphone technology based Boar Buster type whole sounder trapping efforts. The on-the-hoof meat harvested is or could be saleable and/or utilizeable commercially (especially for export markets..see Frontier Meats in Fort Worth) and/or to feed the poor.
If this Warfarin deal ultimately flies, I will forevermore absolutely and completely cringe at the thought of taxpayer subsidies to procure and provide protein and healthy fats to the poor and malnourished populations of the world. Intentional large scale poisoning and destroying carcasses of large edible/valuable meat animals in a world where hunger and malnutrition issues supposedly exist everywhere, including close to home, and where even in America supposedly many kids have to eat at school in order to eat at all is, in this informed layperson taxpayer’s fairly carefully considered opinion, absolutely classic misguided bureaucratic/crony capitalistic heyday insanity,… and at a level that would be hard to top. And I’m clear that regulatory, logistics/supply chain issues for “feeding the poor” aren’t trivial and aren’t simple.
Scaled up whole sounder commercial trapping, combined with conventional commercial/recreational hunting beats the heck out of mass, long term “controlled” systemic introduction of pharmaceutical toxins into the eco-system, an introduction that’s happening just because we’ve theoretically rationalized how we can “safely” do it. And I’m not some tree-hugging hippy-fied greenie. I just abhor taxpayer abuse by special interests, rent-seeking efforts by drug (or any other) companies or persons, and most of all, large scale wasteful, and unnecessarily risky (thus all the aforementioned regulatory framework for “proper” warfarin use), asininity.
If you are unable to conceive of an out of control feral hog population as an abundant and somehow economically harvestable natural resource, then I’m guessing that either you’ve either a) never missed a meal, b) are unavoidably financially/economically conflicted on this matter, c) have no clue about economics concepts like negative externalities costs and unintended consequences costs, d) haven’t a creative/entrepreneurial bone in your body, or perhaps e) some combination of the above, or, maybe even f) all of the above.
And no, I have no material economic interest in either warfarin production/distribution, or Boar Buster type trapping equipment production/distribution.
Anyway, from one who’s in the thick of it, and has given the issue more than typical thought and energy, major thumbs down on this hugely and inherently suboptimal “solution”.
I totally agree with Robert’s comment. Contraception ( preferably sterilization) is the way to go on this issue. Poison is inhuman. I too have seen rats just waiting to die in agony. Not human at all. I tried to leave this comment yesterday but it was not visible? I am posting again. I thought TU was working on a sterilization contraceptive? Where is all this research at?
Feral hogs are a true problem where ever they are found , yet any control method used will have to be used by all land owners. After reading the 29 comments we can see all land owners will not cooperate. How does Kaput react with bear, I believe they are protected in Texas.
Unless al land owners cooperate, I feel poison will not be the answer. If a hog will consume the poison bait what keeps bear from consuming from bait station. Bear are protected in Texas I believe.
Mr. Cumbie – I’m assuming you’ve not read other comments here or the position that TFB advocates. We are not advocating taxpayer funds for this program. The system proposed would be at the expense of the landowner, many of whom are desperate enough to pay it. I’m glad you’ve not reached that point on your own property. Funding is precisely the problem. As the Legislature deals with a significant budget shortfall and counties are cash strapped, public funding of any kind of bounty program is little more than a fantasy. You know about hogs, so I won’t tell you things you already know. However, the prolific breeding of this invasive species has led virtually every expert I can find to conclude that hunting and trapping alone cannot deter it from increasing exponentially. If you perceive a market – and I would not eat one unless I was starving – I can think of nothing that should keep you from it. But a bounty – in dollar strapped Texas – is not going to happen at any level that would be even marginally effective.
Thanks for the quick response, Gene. I did not mean to imply that I thought the State of Texas was going to be handing out the toxin free for the asking. I was referring tot the fact that state government is working on this with the manufacturers, at taxpayer expense, and has been for years. Also, this is/will be a regulated activity going forward and as we all know, regulation is anything but free.
Bounties would almost have to be at taxpayer expense, so I’m not advocating for bounties. In terms of a market for the meat, neither you nor I would have to conjure one from scratch. I mentioned in my prior post that Frontier Meats in Fort Worth already does this and has been for years. And beyond that anecdotal “wild boar meat” purveyor near me, a quick Google search for “wild boar meat for sale” will reveal numerous competitors out there already.
I would sincerely hope that before any seriously plagued landowner/operator would initiate a toxin acquisition and dispensing program, and the accompanying staffing up for safety management and regulatory compliance including thorough and timely carcass disposal/burying, they would first give whole sounder trapping at least a 24 month trial.
And, by the way, I sincerely appreciate the vast majority of TFB’s lobbying efforts on behalf of the Texas agriculture. Especially everything being worked on on the eminent domain front.