Landowners have been asked by officials with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to help locate feral pigs in a specific county.

The KDFWR is attempting to eradicate feral pigs in southeastern Henry County, which is located northeast of Louisville and northwest of Frankfort. Head east from the latter and you'll be in Lexington. These three areas are heavily populated, with Frankfort the home of the state capitol, so it's not like these invasive pigs are toodling around out in the country.

However, it's rural enough that officials are using aerial gunning, trapping and hunting to help eliminate the pests. Landowners received a letter from the state wildlife agency asking for help.

“In the last three years we have prioritized four areas across the state to concentrate our efforts,” said wildlife biologist John Hast, program coordinator for the department’s wild pig eradication efforts. “We know wild pig reproduction is occurring in parts of Henry County, where Casey and Pulaski counties join, and in parts of Hopkins County and Floyd County.”

In the Northern Kentucky Tribune, Hast said there are about 24 Kentucky counties with small, scattered populations of wild pigs. No counties have significant densities of wild pigs, with most areas only having a handful of sounders (family groups). “We’ve made a dent in populations, by working with landowners setting traps.”

The department’s eradication efforts are coordinated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Wildlife Services. Funds were set aside in the 2018 Farm Bill to hire people and buy equipment solely for wild pig trapping. The trapping services offered by KDFWR are free, and landowners can keep the wild pigs trapped if they want to eat them.

Featured image: USDA