There is a Yeti in the back of everyone’s mind; only the blessed are not haunted by it. ~ old sherpa saying

Friday, May 30, 2008

It's Trigger Happy Hog Killin' Time!



(Update: as you can read in the comments below, Lesley of Debris Field remarked that the image above is of a canned hunt, not a hog in the wild. Don't get me started on canned hunts. . .)

I'm a fan of Monster Quest, and was looking forward to the new season of episodes. The new season opened with Mega Hog, about giant hogs loose in the wilds of Texas and Alabama.

Lots of images of huge dead hogs, killed for no reason I could see, except that they were there. The hogs, that is. One guy, no spring chicken as they say, with a broken leg, drives out to where a giant hog was seen. So he drives out there, by himself, with his broken leg, hobbling about with his crutch, to kill him a hog, which, if I remember right, he did. Whoo hee.

Obviously, giant hogs running around are dangerous, and I sure as hell don't ever want to run into one. But there's something so sad, exploitative -- so full of blood lust -- about intentionally going out to shoot yourself some damn hogs. The one that really sickened me, which I commented on at the time, was the little kid, with his huge fancy weapon (looked like a missile launcher to me, not that I know what one is or looks like) all happy faced over his big kill.

Christ almighty, it's a sick world.

So there's some discussion at the beginning of the program about the hogs: are they "real" big giant hogs running around, or are they escaped pen fed pigs who got big by being in the wild? Seemed like a moot point to me; especially since they proved, by comparing skulls, the hogs were of the pen fed for eatin' (no, I don't eat pork) kind.
I mean, a giant hog in the wild is a giant hog; who cares where it came from?

I turned it off not more than fifteen minutes or so into the program. Too many groups of very excited men scrambling into trucks, armed with guns or rifles or who knows, things that kill, to go kill some pig. Just because and all, I guess.

There was something about one team going out to collar one of the hogs so they could track it via camera, etc. That sounded interesting but I just couldn't handle watching anymore of "Let's Go Kill Something Just Cause We Can" crap.

Maybe the show changed its tone later on but I couldn't take anymore.

Very disappointed in the show.

3 comments:

LesleyinNM said...

The sickest thing about that hog shoot (the photo you have posted) is that is was a canned hunt. The hog was farm raised, not even wild. That is also why it grew so large. I doubt there are wild hogs in America that are that large.

Regan Lee said...

I didn't know that! I just got the pic off Google images....

Canned hunts are awful; I wish to hell they were outlawed. And "exotic pet" ownership, etc.

Thanks Lesley.

Nick Redfern said...

People who hunt for pleasure and have that attitude that killing animals makes you a man are nothing but fools.