A battle has been waged regarding what to do about feral hogs in Oahu, Hawaii. Photo: iStockphoto.com/NatalieMills
HogStop, a product that disrupts reproduction in wild hogs, is available now and being distributed. The product is safe, according to the company owner, who says it includes molasses, corn, salt and cotton seed. Daniel Loper said the cotton seed has the contraceptive key to keep the pigs from reproducing.
“I know there’s a big concern in Hawaii that this is going to taint the meat,” Loper told HawaiiNewsNow.com. “The meat will be perfectly safe to eat.”
Pig hunter Eddie Perrells told the outlet he’s not certain about that.
“There is no guarantee, like 100 percent, that thing is not going to affect you,” Perrells said. “Native birds can eat them. It’s just a little grain. So of course, birds, they eat anything that is out there that’s on the ground.”
Perrells and other hunters aren’t pleased about the potential lost opportunities. Hawaii natives hold pigs in high regard, so the reverence vs. destruction presents a complex situation. Pigs were introduced to the islands by Polynesian explorers, and later by British explorers. With no predators, ample habitat and minimal hunting, they reproduced like crazy. Islanders are going through a similar issue with chickens. Loper said as a “mainlander” in the states, he’s sympathetic to the situation.
“There’s a huge cultural reverence for pigs in Hawaii and we’re trying to learn that were mainlanders,” he said. “We’ll never quite 100 percent grasp it. But we’re trying to understand it.”
Elsewhere in Oahu, the Honolulu Civil Beat reports that residents of the affluent Aina Haina neighborhood are battling feral pigs in the area. The neighborhood is located between Waialae-Kahala and Hawaii Kai, all of which overlook the Pacific. Waialae Country Club is host to the annual PGA Tour’s Sony Open each January.
Feral pigs are moving down the steep slopes into the neighborhoods seeking food. Some people are feeding them. Others are outraged and want something done. Members of one neighborhood homeowners board voted to ask city and state officials to make it illegal to feed wild pigs. The board also is seeking possible changes in hunting regulations to make it easier for hunters to kill the pigs.
