Have you been invited to a wild hog supper lately? Many of your Lowcountry friends have.

Bobby McDonald, proprietor at 89 Hanes Mill Road, a licensed deer and hog processing plant in Fort Motte, oversees the cleaning and dressing of hundreds every year. Their average weight is between 50 and 100 pounds, although one hunter hauled in (with a lot of help) a 600-pound specimen early in September.

Charles Routh of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources confirms that the annual bag of these beasts is between 20,000 and 25,000, most being eaten but none of which can be sold. It’s against the law to market wild game.

And there’s no shortage. Since they were brought to America and set loose by Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1539, these hogs have thrived in Carolina’s watery, swampy land and all the states along the Gulf of Mexico.

With few if any predators (wolves, bears or mountain lions) left, they have a paradise to live and breed in. And they take full advantage. Charles says his department’s estimate of the number snorting and rooting in South Carolina is 70,000 to 200,000. The only controls for them are automobiles and bullets.

Many farmers, outdoorsmen and others have no love for their filthy, dirty, lifestyle which destroys habitats for turkeys, quail and other game birds. Their “take it all” appetites reduce much of the food for deer.

Three litters a year

According to Bobby, Admiral de Soto hoped to set up a new and healthy food source for the future Spanish immigrants who would create new colonies. His experiment worked more than well. Today, one healthy Santee sow can produce seven piglets in a litter, then three months later another seven. By this time her first litter is having litters and then, in December, when Big Mamma produces her third, all of the first 14 kids (except the boys) are birthing up to seven each.

Over three centuries, vast cross breeding with hogs from many other countries, including Russia, created new strains of pork. Experts can spot the characteristics. No question, barbecue opportunities are definitely nearby, Bobby says. Get a hunting license and shoot your share, 15 or more during the season. The average pig weighs 50 to 100 pounds, 25 percent being edible meat. They can fill a freezer, give pounds to friends, or furnish the main course for a church supper. And truly delicious.

“Unfortunately, they cause a lot of damage,” Charles says, “gobbling up corn, sunflower seeds, etc.

“Some carry the disease brucellosis, which can infect domestic pigs with reproductive failure if they are allowed to mix. Farmers and government inspectors have to be vigilant that the meat is handled according to state laws. It is just as safe as any domestic meat when properly handled and prepared.”

$7 per pound

According to Bobby, most Americans don’t realize how much wild pork there is and who consumes it. Texas alone has a population of two million wild hogs or more. Gulf Coast states have hundreds of thousands, far more than South Carolina. The Lone Star State processes tons of the meat, which, under special law, is dressed, frozen and sold to many countries in Europe, including Italy and Germany. Its authorized processing plants produce and ship it for $7 per pound.

The major reason for the enterprise is to keep the wild hog population under control, Charles says. Of all the states, only Alaska and Washington do not have them.

For hunters who relish the sport, the state has 20 to 30 privately owned preserves which for $200 and up furnish a comfortable room, a good supper and other amenities the evening before, then breakfast and escort to special hunting stands the next day. Some of them will dress the hogs for you.

Because so many populate the nation, it’s unlikely that they will ever be extinct, Charles says. And because it would be nearly impossible to monitor and inoculate them all, it isn’t likely that they will ever be sold commercially. But they will be here to provide sport for many hunters even though we would probably be better off in the long run if we did not have them.

Retired editor and public relations executive Thomas Langford’s column is titled “Some Edisto stories.” Let him know if you have stories to share: 803-534-2097.

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