PIG HUNT
State-regulated pig hunts may expand
By Kim Fassler
Advertiser Staff Writer
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Pig hunts and traps in Manoa, Makiki and Tantalus have bagged nearly 70 pigs since they began last year and may expand to other parts of O'ahu.
Broader hunts would help the Department of Land and Natural Resources, which runs the hunts, collects data on pig populations and responds to an increasing number of calls about pig problems, said Patrick Porter, a biologist with the department's Division of Forestry and Wildlife.
"We want to prevent what was happening in Manoa with pigs coming down into people's backyards," he said.
A 2,178-acre area called the Honolulu Forest Reserve Control Hunt — which spans the forests of Manoa, Makiki and Tantalus — has been the testing ground for the year-round hunting and trapping. Sixty-six pigs have been caught or killed since February 2007, 13 of them since the beginning of March.
The program was supposed to end after a year but was extended because of community support. Hunters in the control hunt area can use dogs, bows and arrows, and knives. Hunting is allowed Wednesdays and Sundays and hunters must get permits every three months.
State officials are still "just talking" about expanding the existing program, Porter said, and he could not say what other areas are being considered. There are 12 public hunting areas on O'ahu, but only in the Honolulu Forest Reserve Control Hunt area do hunters have to register with the DLNR.
The state Legislature, environmental groups and others want the DLNR to control feral pigs more aggressively. More pigs have come into residential neighborhoods in recent years as more homes have been built in forests.
The Waialae Ridgeline Estate Association has tried for years to get someone to handle a group of four or five pigs that have been rooting up residents' backyards. The problem has grown worse, with pigs occasionally wandering on roads, according to Scotty Anderson of the association.
A month ago, Kamehameha Schools, which owns the land, sent in hunters armed with bows and arrows after requests from the association. The hunters carry .22-caliber handguns to finish off the pigs wounded by arrows.
SOME OPPOSE THE HUNTS
The pigs are a threat to pets and carry diseases, Anderson said. But not everyone in the community agrees.
"You have some people that want to have pigs as pets and some other people want to annihilate them," Anderson said.
The residents most upset with the hunts leave oranges and other food in their backyards for the pigs, he said. "They think we're murdering their pets."
The biggest issue remains how to expand the DLNR program while accommodating all parties involved. The Honolulu Forest Reserve Control Hunt ran up against opposition when packs of hunting dogs attacked and seriously injured or killed at least three pets in Tantalus and Manoa during the first few months of the program.
There is no way to tell whether the dogs belonged to licensed hunters. But Kawehi Yim, spokeswoman for the Hawaiian Humane Society, said loose dogs are a concern in any hunting area.
The Humane Society does not have a position on the pig hunts, but, Yim said, "our hope is with any method they choose (to kill the pigs) there will be no suffering and the animals will be treated in a humane manner."
Hawai'i's feral pigs do not hesitate to seek food and water in urban neighborhoods. The animals reproduce every four to seven months and can double their numbers every year.
Research from The Nature Conservancy shows that 60 percent of the pig population must be removed each year to maintain a steady number of pigs.
There is no definitive study on the number of feral pigs in Hawai'i, but DLNR has been gathering information at all public hunting areas on Oahu. Hunters are asked to check in before starting their hunt and then check out with their pig counts.
The department is also trying a three-pronged strategy in the control hunt area that includes:
The traps have been used by DLNR to control a booming pig population at Pu'u Wa'awa'a Wildlife Sanctuary on the Big Island, and have been tested on O'ahu at Kawainui Marsh and Kualoa Ranch over the last year.
The tests have been "really successful," Porter said, and have caught as many as three pigs at one time. Traps have been set at Kawainui Marsh six times and have caught a total of 11 pigs.
State legislators, including Rep. Kirk Caldwell, D-24th (Manoa), whose district has been the focus of recent attention on feral pigs, have been pushing DLNR to expand its program.
But Caldwell acknowledged that Manoa isn't unusual. "The pig problem is big in other parts of the island," he said.
Pig-related measures were introduced during this past legislative session, including a bill that would have appropriated money for box traps, baits and corrals. Another resolution called for DLNR to expand game management areas and public hunting areas and provide cash incentives to private hunters. Both measures died in committee.
Caldwell said he intends to introduce a measure next year calling for a statewide pig control initiative run by DLNR and similar to what the department is considering for the rest of O'ahu.
"We need to come up with a program that not only maintains the population, but over time would get rid of it or limit it to certain areas," he said.
CULTURAL TRADITIONS
Any effort to wipe out the pigs or put restrictions on hunting areas must consider those who view hunting as a cultural tradition, Porter said.
"We want to have a good relationship with the community," Porter said. 'We're trying to find a balance between homeowners, government agencies and hunters, because hunters are part of the community, too. We're trying to find a way to get everybody on the right page."
People or groups seeking to hunt in the control hunt area must register. There are now nine registered parties, the largest of which is three people.
That's fewer parties than at the program's start, Porter said. "The interest kind of died off."
Though there are more complaints about pigs across O'ahu, both Porter and Caldwell said there are fewer complaints now from around the control hunt area.
"There are still pigs being taken out, but not as much as before," Porter said.
"It shows hunters are having less success, which is a good thing. It shows the population is being reduced."
Reach Kim Fassler at fassler@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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