Texas officials are warning that the pig apocalypse may soon be upon us.
Now,as CBS News reports,Texas is fighting back big time against the rampant proliferation of feral hogs. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller this week approved the use of a pesticide specifically designed to target wild pigs.
Texas currently holds an estimated 2.5 million wild pigs, which is more than the entire population of Houston. The porky pests are wreaking an estimated $50 million in yearly damage to Lone Star ag operations.
The move has some hunters upset, however. The sportsmen have gathered 1,200 signatures on a petition to stop the employment of pesticide. The hunters say if hogs are poisoned, they can’t hunt them and feed them to their families. Pig hunting is big business in Texas, with 27,000 hogs shot from helicopters alone each year.