The Washington Post is ramping up its hate campaign against wild pigs. Labeling the highly intelligent, highly social animals as an “invasive species,” the newspaper describes them as “marauding” across the southern United States, “eviscerating crops, gobbling up sea turtles, and tramping archaeological sites in a rampage showing no signs of letting up.”
The newspaper invokes their Hispanic origins — “brought to North America from Europe by Spanish conquistadors” — and makes an issue of their high fertility rate: “They produce large litters.” Invoking harmful and negative stereotypes, the newspaper quotes an Arkansas Game & Fish Commissioner spokesman as saying that the animals leave a “trail of diseases and parasites.” And without citing any evidence that wild pigs have attacked humans, it warns, “Their razor sharp tusks combined with their lightning speed can cause serious injury.”
Describing feral hogs as a pest to be exterminated, WaPo writes approvingly of the use of camera-enabled traps, night hunts using infrared scopes, and “helicopter squads rifle-toting sportsmen.” It quotes a Texas wildlife official as suggesting that an AR-15-type firerarm may not pack enough punch to pierce the pig’s tough hide. “The best caliber rifles should be a .243 of greater to prevent wounding and loss of the animal.”
Bacon’s bottom line: Wild pigs are wily, tough, and adaptable. Sure, they may out-compete native American species that don’t want to put in much effort in the daily struggle for survival, but they bring diversity to U.S. ecosystems. With their strong pack cohesion, they show stronger “family values” than most Americans. Terrified of the demographic revolution in the animal world, the Washington Post is displaying an ugly fear of change.
Update: The Virginia Mercury has the Virginia angle on the hog debate. This article contends that people (identities unknown) might have imported hogs into the state and released them into the wild to be hunted.
