Porcine Press – Don’t “Taze” me, man!
Just saw the following making the rounds of the newspapers, and it was too good not to share it with the Hog Blog readers:
Note to self: Taser no good on wild boars
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
(10-15) 14:32 PDT Brooksville, Fla. (AP) –Information from: St. Petersburg Times, www.sptimes.com
While normally effective on people, a Hernando deputy learned the hard way that Taser stun guns do not work very well on wild boars.
The sheriff’s office reported that Deputy Joseph Tibor responded to complaints of an “extremely large pig” tearing up a resident’s yard in a Brooksville neighborhood Tuesday morning. He quickly found a 450-pound boar rooting up shrubbery and threatening a water fountain.
The animal then flashed his tusks toward onlookers. Tibor tried to stop it with his Taser, but the 50,000 volts had no effect on the animal.
The boar was eventually corralled into a neighbor’s trailer.
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I really love the line, “The animal then flashed his tusks toward onlookers.”
Since a big boar’s tusks are generally exposed, it’s pretty hard for him NOT to flash them. It’s kinda like saying a deer “flashed his antlers” at onlookers, you know? But hey, what’s a good news article without a little sensationalism. That boar was an imminent danger and non-lethal force had to be used! (My eyes can’t roll any further up in my head right now.)
Wow. Good to know. I can’t believe they can handle the shock from those things.
October 15th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
I love the bias of omission that we are left to fill in, in particular the space between:
“Tibor tried to stop it with his Taser, but the 50,000 volts had no effect on the animal.”
and
“The boar was eventually corralled into a neighbor’s trailer.”
Also, what did the neighbor think about the commandeering of his trailer by a 450 lb. boar?
October 15th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
What’s also funny, Josh, is the difference between the way they paint this story about the ugly wild boar (actually a feral hog, but let’s not nitpick) as a fearsome, dangerous beast vs the way they handle stories about deer straying into someone’s home or business as somewhat piteous, confused and mostly harmless creatures.
October 15th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Actually, the part about the 50,000 volts not stopping the hog will stand out most of all in the minds of the uninformed public. And this in turn will facilitate the acceptance of lethal force being used to control similar situations.
Maybe? Hopefully? awright! I am being optimistic but I can wish for that to happen huh?
October 15th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
How does one “threaten a water fountain”?
October 16th, 2008 at 11:13 am
My headline would have been “Arnold tased by copper”
I’m thinking the thick hide on the hog kept the taser dart from connecting the 50K voltage. Sort of like trying to tase a guy wearing a thick winter jacket. I guarantee you hit any animal with 50K volts they are going to do the funky chicken.
October 17th, 2008 at 7:53 am