Hogs in San Diego County?
Well, lots of southern California hog hunters are raising an uproar about this one… looks like someone is killing hogs in San Diego County, and now it’s in the news. Here’s a story in the SD Union-Tribune earlier last week about the whole thing. Here’s the opening paragraphs:
For the first time, a hunter has gone public with evidence of a successful hog hunt north of El Capitan Reservoir.
It has been nearly three years since a herd of domesticated pigs was released into the San Diego backcountry from a pen on the Capitan Grande Indian Reservation, which straddles the San Diego River north of the reservoir.
The Union-Tribune and the state Department of Fish & Game were told the hogs were released in order to start a hunting program on Indian land, where tribes have their own game laws.
I remember the pictures taken last year along the reservoir, and rumors of successful pig hunts have been trickling out, but this put the whole thing right out there. I imagine there’ll be a rush on pig tags as SoCal hunters make tracks, thankful to finally have a confirmed, huntable herd of hogs right in their own backyard. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, I’m not so sure. My guess is the initial rush will drop off fast, when folks find out that the hunting isn’t quite as easy as they’d hoped… especially if they don’t have access to the private land in the area.
For my part, I don’t think I’ll be making the 9-10 hour drive anytime soon.