Ravenous wild boars run roughshod over Texas, but entrepreneurs have figured out how to turn the land-ravaging pigs into a money-making resource.
Hunters, ranchers and farmers shoot the boars on sight, an attempt at mass eradication that's encouraged by state lawmakers, who recently legalized hunting them from hot air balloons. Why? Because it's quieter than hunting them from helicopters, as is often done.
Spanish conquistadors introduced the boars to Texas in the 1500s as a ready food source. In the 20th century, more pigs were brought to game preserves. Since then, they've been breeding rapidly, at an annual rate of half a dozen piglets per sow. There are about 2.6 million wild boars in Texas and up to 9 million in the U.S., according to Billy Higginbotham, wildlife professor at Texas A&M.
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