No success yet with birth control for feral hogs

There's a saying that when a feral hog has six piglets, only eight are expected to survive. That's no joke in Texas, however, where the 400-pound beasts do an estimated $50 million in damage to crops and property each year. Texas has half the nation's feral hogs, but they're now found in about 38 other states, up from fewer than 20 states 15 years ago. One Texas researcher had hoped to slow their rapid reproduction with a birth control pill, but that hasn't worked out well. Two compounds proved ineffective. One required a very exact dose to work, and the other wore off too soon, said Duane Kraemer, a Texas A&M University veterinarian and researcher. There also are the problems of getting the hogs to take the drug, keeping it from other animals and ensuring humans who eat hog meat aren't harmed...more