I never eat them, 30% carry brucellosis.
That's unbelievable. I wonder how there hasn't been a bigger gov't effort to subsidize their elimination. Not only invasive but also a health hazard.
Asnoted earlier, I did some Internet searching and what I found was a 10% rate of brucellosis. In one of my posts on this thread I asked hanco about the 30% rate, and whether it was local, but he didn't respond.
I also noted that a LOT of wild game, not just pigs, can be infected by various diseases potentially harmful to humans, yet with proper handlingf and cooking it ain't a big deal.
Might also point out that while Texas continues to be overrun with feral pigs, more than any other state/region in the U.S., one POSSIBLE reason might be that almost all landowners continue to use corn feeders (sometimes called the Texas state flower)--and higher nutrition tends to result in higher survival and reproduction of pigs. We have hunted feral pigs in several states, and have yet to encounter the population density of Texas.
Might also point out that Montana (where I live) has been worried about brucellosis for decades, because of its presence in Yellowstone Park bison, which in most winters migrate to lower elevations outside the park, where they can mix with cattle, and theoretically infect them. Brucellosis causes cattle to about calves, which is why it's a big deal for Montana cattle to be certified brucellosis free.
Despite all that, there has yet to be a proven instance of YP bison transmitting brucellosis to domestic cattle. And despite quite a few Yellowstone elk carrying brucellosis, there's never been big outcry when they migrate out of the Park, even before wolves reduced the population considerably, perhaps because hunting and outfitting during the annual out-of-the-park elk migration was just as important a local industry as cattle ranching--and maybe more so.
Do know one guy, a Florida outfitter/guide friend, who got brucellosis from a wild pig. He said it was not fun, but he never took any precautions about becoming infected, such as wearing rubber gloves when field-dressing/butchering them. Now he does.
Eileen and I have brought back a lot of wild pork from our hunts, not just from Texas but nine others states. This is partly because Eileen's primary job is writing game cookbooks--and a BUNCH of her fans ask for recipes for wild pork. So we always bring back at least some from our hunts in Texas (and other states), though we mostly keep younger pigs and sows. She always includes feral pig recipes in her big game cookbooks, for everything from piglets on up--because so many people DO eat them.
That's about it for now.
