Posted By: noxqses
Donating wild pigs to needy families. - 08/01/20 06:02 PM
Our lease has an abundance of wild pigs like most places in Texas. What are the rules and regulations on donating the meat to needy families in the area of the lease? Do they follow the same rules as donating deer meat?
Posted By: Double Naught Spy
Re: Donating wild pigs to needy families. - 08/01/20 11:37 PM
Not exactly. Hog meat cannot be publicly distributed without first having the animal inspected while alive and then after being killed. This is why feral hog meat from hunters cannot be donated to shelters, but deer meat can. Feral hog meat is treated just like domestic hog meat (same animal, after all) for which the regulations involve a pre and post mortem inspection.
You can distribute hog meat to your friends. A lot of us have done it. If you want to make friends with the locals and give them some of the proceeds of your hunting, as I understand it, that is fine, just like it would be okay if you gave some to your next door neighbor or your cousin.
Posted By: skinnerback
Re: Donating wild pigs to needy families. - 08/03/20 03:51 AM
Like DNS said, it just can't be a public or official deal. You can donate all of the pork you want "from hunting" to needy families person to person, I've done a lot of it.
If you pursue this though, you will learn that eventually everyone wants their meat cleaned/packaged/delivered to them. I used to do that too, nope not anymore, unless it's a special circumstance (elders). In general, people are lazy. There's a lot of folks out there that claim they are starving, they just wish they had a pig or two, but when you call them at 1-4 am with a bunch of dead pigs to clean all of a sudden they're not starving any more.
It's a noble concept, just don't hurt your back like I did for people who wouldn't do it for you. You'll know it when you meet a TRULY needy family that is willing to help you with the work.
Posted By: Sneaky
Re: Donating wild pigs to needy families. - 08/03/20 06:23 AM
Like DNS said, it just can't be a public or official deal. You can donate all of the pork you want "from hunting" to needy families person to person, I've done a lot of it.
If you pursue this though, you will learn that eventually everyone wants their meat cleaned/packaged/delivered to them. I used to do that too, nope not anymore, unless it's a special circumstance (elders). In general, people are lazy. There's a lot of folks out there that claim they are starving, they just wish they had a pig or two, but when you call them at 1-4 am with a bunch of dead pigs to clean all of a sudden they're not starving any more.
It's a noble concept, just don't hurt your back like I did for people who wouldn't do it for you. You'll know it when you meet a TRULY needy family that is willing to help you with the work.
Sound advice. Cleaning pigs will sort the hungry from the handout seekers.
Posted By: hook_n_line
Re: Donating wild pigs to needy families. - 08/03/20 11:55 AM
Yep. I tell them they can can come shoot all the pigs they want for free as long as they clean them and take them. Some people just want to kill for the he77 of it and not use the meat. If i wanted that to be the case there would be dead pigs all over.
Posted By: Hunt Dog
Re: Donating wild pigs to needy families. - 08/03/20 04:01 PM
Trap them and donate them live??
Posted By: mickeyhft
Re: Donating wild pigs to needy families. - 08/03/20 04:15 PM
Another option would be letting a mentored hunt program come out and hunt, kill, and clean them. The Texas Youth Hunting Program and Texas Backcountry Hunters and Anglers Programs are run through the Texas Wildlife Association and provide everything for the hunt. All a landowner needs to give is access. The programs even provide landowner liability insurance, so no worries there. Long running program with great history of success. By doing this, you are also helping the cause of hunting by providing more hunters the opportunity to get in the field and learn.
You said it was a lease, so I guess this would be connecting the program with the landowner. You could then, if you and the landowner wanted, be the landowners agent and work with the program to administer the hunt. And or guide on the hunt. Send me a PM if you want more info, or connect with a representative of the program yourself.
In any case, great thing you are wanting to do, no matter how it works out.
Also, I thought there were some Hunters for the Hungry processors that could/would take hogs, but that may have ended some years ago.
Posted By: Big_Country01
Re: Donating wild pigs to needy families. - 08/03/20 06:21 PM
I have offered up dozens of pigs that I have shot to people in the community that say they need the meat. Ill give you a guess on how many have actually showed up and another guess on how big my bone pile is.
Posted By: Gringo Bling
Re: Donating wild pigs to needy families. - 08/03/20 11:03 PM
I just bought 7.5# of center cut pork chops at Costco for $10. That comes out to around $1.50 per pound. It's not even worth the effort to clean a pig when you can buy it at those prices.