Hunting is being promoted on Guam to help curtail the growing problem of invasive feral pigs causing issues such as those in parts of the United States and Europe. New and young hunters are being trained in firearms safety, stalking and other tactics to help rid the island of the aggressive rooters.
Guam, a U.S. territory, is about 212 square miles in size, about the size of Chicago or Singapore. It is 30 miles long and 9 miles wide. It was a significant military installation during World War II and those afterward and is about 4,000 miles east of Hawaii. It is the largest island in Micronesia and is part of the Mariana Archipelago.
As in the United States and elsewhere, feral pigs on Guam have no significant predators other than humans. They are impacting the island’s farms, public spaces, private gardens and yards, agricultural areas and native fauna.
“It’s just a problem that has continued to persist on the island as everyone sees now in their neighborhoods. Wild pigs are coming out and their numbers are just growing, and it’s hard to keep under control,” Michielle Crisostomo of Guåhan Sustainable Culture told KUAM News.
Crisostomo’s group has 50 acres, known as the Food Resiliency Hub, where it grows fruits and vegetables. The group also is spearheading the hunting program it calls Ginen I Halom Tåno’. Hunters participating learn about safety, hunting tactics and how to process the meat that is then provided for the community to use.
“Farmers and growers are having a very difficult time being able to grow fruits and vegetables, because of course the pigs are damaging it,” Crisostomo said. “It’s very costly for them to be able to mitigate that through paying for fencing. Pigs have destroyed the ability for us to grow a lot of our traditional root crops as well.
“Our program is really focused on beginning and youth hunters, empowering them with skills and knowledge, and giving them a space to learn in a way that is safe with the experts that are there. Also, teaching them the full scale of what it takes, not just to hunt down pigs and eradicate them, but to also learn the game-care process and how to process the meat and turn that into food, because food security is also one of the problems we are focused on addressing.”
The program is funded by the First Nations Development Institute. It is run in partnership with the Guam Department of Agriculture’s Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources. Twenty participants were recruited to receive free hunter safety training, mentorship, hands-on instruction in ethical hunting and proper game handling and firearm and archery safety. An island-wide hunt is planned for May.
Crisostomo’s organization is seeking experienced hunters to volunteer as mentors and asking grocery stores and markets to donate surplus produce for use in pig bait traps.
