Kinky Friedman: Put wild hog on a plate

Kinky Friedman (right) recommends turning Texas' troublesome feral hog surfeit into profit for the state. Kinky Friedman (right) recommends turning Texas' troublesome feral hog surfeit into profit for the state. Photo: Lisa Krantz / San Antonio Express-News Photo: Lisa Krantz / San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Kinky Friedman: Put wild hog on a plate 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

SAN ANTONIO — With just a month before the Democratic runoff, flamboyant Kinky Friedman is proposing that the state harvest wild hogs and sell the meat to generate state revenue, create jobs and buffer the rising costs of pen-raised meat.

Friedman, a candidate for agriculture commissioner, said the pigs largely are an untapped industry that could be a lucrative endeavor for the state rather than a waste of life.

“If you are going to kill a bunch of feral hogs, let's at least do it for a profit and business for the state,” he said. “To kill all these hogs and let them rot doesn't make sense.”

The state could generate jobs by trapping, processing and marketing the meat to consumers in the state and abroad, while aiding land owners and ranchers with one of their biggest problems, said Friedman, who added that the meat tastes “quite good.”

Billy Higginbotham, professor and extension wildlife fishery specialist for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, said the animals destroy crops and pastures, transmit diseases to livestock, pose threats to drivers for collisions on highways and can damage suburban greenscapes such as parks and athletic fields.

The population in Texas has increased by about 20 percent each year because boars have the “highest reproductive rate of any large mammal in the world,” he said. Some food banks, small grocers and restaurants in the state and country sell the meat, which is described by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department as “tasty” and lean.

Land owners and hunters can trap and sell the live animals to about 100 buying stations in the state, which are licensed and regulated by the Texas Animal Health Commission, where they are inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture before the hogs are slaughtered and sold for human consumption across the country and world. The stations currently buy the pigs, which range from 60 pounds to more than 200 pounds, from individuals for about 30 cents per pound.

“Texas is literally able to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear,” he said, adding that 460,000 hogs in Texas were federally inspected, slaughtered and sold between 2004-2009.

The state, however, does not pull any taxes or revenue from the transactions of the buyback program, which is the only of its kind in the country.

Friedman — an author, songwriter and entertainer — said the program is a good start, but the state should become more involved and broaden the program and rake some of the profits. An addition of meat to the market could help keep prices low, said Friedman, who will face Cleburne farmer and insurance agent Jim Hogan in the Democrat runoff election May 27.

Hogan said the state should not be involved because “free enterprise is the best system.”

The winner of the May 27 runoff election will face the winner of the Republican runoff, either Sid Miller or Tommy Merritt, in November for the statewide office.

Beef and pork prices have sharply risen in recent weeks because of a pig virus and drought in the southwest.

Hog hunting also is a very popular sport in rural areas, but many of the hunters are not able to sell the meat because of federal regulations. Some food banks and small grocers around the state also sell wild hog meat.

Wild pigs are unprotected by the state, “meaning they may be taken by any means or methods at any time of year” according to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

There are no seasons or bag limits, however a hunting license and landowner permission are required to hunt them, the agency said.

“Or we could hire Ted Nugent and a helicopter (to kill the hogs) and do it that way,” Friedman said.

kparker@express-news.net

Twitter: @KoltenParker