- On February 21, 2017, Sid Miller announced an “emergency” rule change to allow warfarin-based poison for use on feral hogs.
- Warfarin is rat poison. It’s an anti-coagulant that causes animals to “bleed out” in a lengthy, painful death. It takes days for a poisoned hog to die.
- If Miller’s program proceeds, in effect he will flood Texas lands with rat poison. Hunters will be at risk that they will kill and eat poisoned hogs. Ranchers will be at risk that the hogs will die on their property without their knowledge (—hogs can travel 5 to 20 miles a day), and wildlife and even dogs can feed on their carcasses. Poisoned hogs can die in waterways. A landowner who uses the poison on one ranch will be sending poisoned hog onto surrounding properties.
- The program will damage Texas hunters, the feral-hog meat industry, ranchers and other landowners, wildlife, and the environment.
- The “safeguards” in the current rule are totally inadequate to prevent exposure of livestock and wildlife to this rat poison, warfarin. The proposed bait stations have only a 10-pound lid. Raccoons can lift 28 pounds, cattle and deer can lift 10 pounds easily. So can human children. The proposed, required “burial” of the poisoned hogs is totally impractical because poisoned hogs can travel so far and die in unknown locations, and even if found, burial is time-consuming, difficult, and expensive.
- Australia tried this program and it failed. Australia abandoned the program.
- The program will severely damage multi-million dollar industries in Texas, including hunters, trappers, hunting-supply businesses, sporting-goods stores, hunting guides, feral-hog meat processors, food vendors, the pet-food industry, and on and on. The economic damage from this program will be massive.
- In fact, the program will damage feral-hog control in Texas rather than assist feral-hog control. The traditional, established, proven methods of feral-hog control, including hunting and trapping, will be damaged and reduced. The result will increase, rather than decrease, the number of feral hogs in Texas.
- Sid Miller’s plan is a bad idea that will hurt Texas, the Texas economy, Texas wildlife.
THIS PROGRAM MUST BE STOPPED NOW!!