Apparently the few who've been keeping locations a secret aren't keeping up?

http://www.calgarysun.com/2013/03/23/alberta-bringing-in-bounty-to-deal-with-brewing-wild-boar-woes


Alberta bringing in bounty to deal with brewing wild boar woes 69

 
While it’s struggled recently to keep Alberta rat-free, provincial officials now say they’re rooting out a strategy to cleanse wilderness areas of wild boars.

Ten years after they designated the feral pigs as pests and began offering a $50 bounty on their heads, the province is set to craft a more multi-pronged boar war strategy to eradicate the animals that tear up landscapes, harm other wildlife and damage crops, said Alberta Agriculture pest specialist Phil Merrill.

“We’ve got to come up with a plan and we have to have one soon,” said Merrill, who also works to ward off rats.

“They compete against native species we consider beneficial.”

It’s believed as many as 400 of the destructive animals that could also carry disease are running wild in Alberta, most of them in rural areas around Edmonton and east toward the Saskatchewan border.

Their high birthrate fuels concerns their presence could spread.

A boar control team like Alberta’s so-called rat patrol is yet to exist and the province will consider hiring contractors to more intensively hunt the animals down — or might consider enlisting individual counties in the effort.

The existing bounty has been collected by private hunters who’ve turned in the ears of 902 wild boars to collect the reward,

But Merrill said that effort slackened off last year, with about 80 ears turned in.

“I’m not sure if hunters just don’t want to do it anymore or maybe farmers are tired of trespassers,” he said.

A co-ordinated strategy would also include possible tougher regulations for game ranches, which have been the source of wild boars in the wild, said Merrill.

Mandating electrified fences are one idea, he added.

Earlier this week, Merrill attended a national conference in Winnipeg bringing together experts grappling with the issue.

“It’s to see what other provinces have done,” said Merrill.

Moving strongly on the problem, particularly by controlling wild boar ranches is essential, said University of Saskatchewan biologist Ryan Brook.

“You have to be real aggressive — the longer you wait, the more expensive it gets,” said Brook, who researches the animals in his province.

Recently, some of the boars, which are considered a larger problem in Saskatchewan, have been detected crossing westward into Alberta.

bill.kaufmann@sunmedia.ca

I got 5 in November and saw several more, just got the bounty cheque.

I hope they spread and flourish.

I hope they spread and flourish.

If they do I'm sure there will be a draw for them..

btw....Is my .30-06 good enough or should I get a .338?

Praying for the increased opportunity they may take the pressure off other game animals. 

btw....Is my .30-06 good enough or should I get a .338?

I suspect any we have loose are crossbreeds so think pig.  Have a friend in N. Cal.;  there were some purebreds loose there, he said they were damn tough and that he wouldn't use less than 30 cal.  to expect a bangflop at any distance.

That being passed on, you can rent a crossbow to shoot them behind a fence W of Ed., so who's to say?

All I know is I'd love to have free pork for hams, chops and mix and I'm sure I'm not alone.  If it's such a problem all they'd have to do is post problem area's on My wild AB website and there'd be a thousand hunters for every pig, me included.

Wouldn't that just make sense now,, posting the problem areas up on My Wild AB,, way to much sense. Our powers in charge would never think of anything like that. And you are right Bruce,, I would think there would be enough hunters in very short order to help with the issue..

Well just think for a moment :  Landowner, "Hey I have a small group of wild boar living in my area and causing me some grief."  Fish & Wildlife, "Ok we will put it out on the internet and by next week you should probably have at least a hundred hunters knocking on your door wanting to wipe out those hogs."  Land owner, "hummm,  I said I wanted to be ride of the grief not double it."


Now some years ago I got a call from a F&W officer who had found out my son and I had antlerless mule deer tags in a specific area.  He said he had a landowner in that area who had deer depredation complaints.  He took my number and asked if he could give it to the landowner so he could talk to me.  I had a long talk with the land owner and went down and met with him.  I hunted on his land but the heard had moved on to somewhere else in the area (mule deer do not tend to stay in one 1/4 all the time).  The land owner was happy F&W had put us in touch and that I had made an effort to help him out.  He said I should keep him in mind if I was hunting Mule deer in the area again.

Fish and Wildlife helping a land owner and a hunter connect.  I know that is hard for you to swallow walleyes but it is true.

Well just think for a moment :  Landowner, "Hey I have a small group of wild boar living in my area and causing me some grief."  Fish & Wildlife, "Ok we will put it out on the internet and by next week you should probably have at least a hundred hunters knocking on your door wanting to wipe out those hogs."  Land owner, "hummm,  I said I wanted to be ride of the grief not double it."


Now some years ago I got a call from a F&W officer who had found out my son and I had antlerless mule deer tags in a specific area.  He said he had a landowner in that area who had deer depredation complaints.  He took my number and asked if he could give it to the landowner so he could talk to me.  I had a long talk with the land owner and went down and met with him.  I hunted on his land but the heard had moved on to somewhere else in the area (mule deer do not tend to stay in one 1/4 all the time).  The land owner was happy F&W had put us in touch and that I had made an effort to help him out.  He said I should keep him in mind if I was hunting Mule deer in the area again.

Fish and Wildlife helping a land owner and a hunter connect.  I know that is hard for you to swallow walleyes but it is true.

Oh geez,, so it did happen once eh,, awesome for them..

Ron, can't help you out with 90 minutes from Edmonton but if you wanted to go up around Manning Ab. I hear the boars are doing well.