Sara Karnes, Springfield News-LeaderApril 21, 2022, 4:11 AM·6 min read

REYNOLDS COUNTY, Mo. — Don Kory owns 600 acres on either side of Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park. What was supposed to be a farm to enjoy retirement quickly turned into a nightmare 15 years ago.

The culprit? Feral hogs.

"They destroy everything, literally, destroy everything," Kory said.

Kory used to tend gardens on his farm. While others may lament about rabbits, squirrels or deer making off with a few vegetables, Kory said hogs would remake the land.

"You know what happens when the pigs come in?" Kory asked. "The whole entire garden is destroyed and plowed under in one night. We just gave up on gardens because you just couldn't have them anymore."

Kory called the Missouri Feral Hog Elimination Partnership and the Department of Conservation to tell them there were pigs on his property.

"If somebody would have told me I'm just gonna take 726 pigs off my property, I'd told them they were nuts," Kory said. "But, since we started, that's how many I've taken off there."

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Kory started gardening again. He built a corral and laid fencing to keep the feral hogs out.

"They come right out and root up into the fence and try to get through to the garden, but they don't get in," Kory said.

While the garden is thriving now, Kory's diligence against the feral hogs remains constant.

"It's been a long, hard battle," Kory said. "I didn't retire to become a pig trapper."

Traps, infrared cameras, drones have helped find sounders

The Missouri Feral Hog Elimination Partnership includes more than 15 federal and state agencies along with agriculture and conservation organizations.

The partnership killed 9,857 feral hogs in 2021, bringing the total number of hogs killed since 2016 to more than 54,000. For 2019, 10,495 hogs were killed and 12,635 in 2020. The partnership employs 10 full-time trappers along with educators through the University of Missouri's Extension Program.

(editor：)