Hog

The wild hog, (Sus scrofa) also called the wild boar or feral pig, is not a Florida native, and may have been introduced by explorer Hernando DeSoto as early as 1539.   They may weigh over 150 pounds, and be 5-6 feet long.  They travel in herds containing several females and their offspring.

Wild hogs occur throughout Florida in various habitats, but prefer moist forests and swamps, and pine flatwoods.  They are omnivorous and feed by rooting with their broad snouts.  They may cause great damage of the understory and leave an area looking like a plowed field. 

Exclusion of hogs is not usually possible except in small areas around yards and gardens. Nuisance hogs may be trapped using pens with trap doors and baited with acorns or old corn.  Trapped animals may not be released on public land, and only on private land with the landowners permission.

Wild hogs are legal game and may be taken only during specific seasons in most Type I and Type II Wildlife Management Areas.  In most of Florida, wild hogs are considered domestic livestock and are the property of the landowner upon whose land they occur. With landowner permission, there is no closed season, bag limit, or size limit for wild hogs where they are considered domestic livestock.

More information

Feral hogs, The Florida experience. Paper by FWC biologist

Commercial information from Texas, including trapping hints

Alabama commercial information on trapping

Papers from 1993 Feral swine conference in Texas

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