Feral Hog Poison Patent Approved

Is poisoning feral hogs to reduce their numbers one step closer?

The following is from the LSU AG Center’s Instagram account. regarding a new paten for a recently tested poison.

“After years of research aimed at finding an effective way to control exploding populations of feral hogs, a patent has been issued for a bait developed by scientists with the LSU AgCenter and LSU Department of Chemistry.”

“The bait uses sodium nitrite, which is lethal to feral swine, the culprits behind millions of dollars in damage to agricultural fields and forestlands in Louisiana and across the country. But the bait has minimal impact on the environment and nontarget species. With a consistency similar to gummy bears, it is shaped into golf ball-sized spheres, tastes fishy and even glows under blacklight.”

“The patent was issued Aug. 8 to LSU with the inventors listed as Glen Gentry, an animal scientist and director of the LSU AgCenter Bob R. Jones-Idlewild Research Station in Clinton; John Pojman, an LSU chemistry professor; and Baylen Thompson, a former graduate student who worked under Pojman.”

A warfarin-based poison was given the green light in Texas a few years back but then pulled due to intense negative feedback.

We will have more on what the next steps will be on the hog poisoning issue in Louisiana and how it might impact Texas in the coming weeks.

TF&G Staff