More than 670 feral hogs were killed in Arkansas last month reports the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
The hogs were killed as part of a U.S. Department of Agriculture program.
“It’s very efficient because you can cover a lot of areas,” a spokesperson said to the paper, adding that without leaves on trees in the winter, it’s easy to see the hogs from the air.
The operation spanned 13 days and covered around 376,000 acres of land.
The carcasses were left on the ground as some animals will eat the hogs, otherwise, mother nature will take care of it.
The meat can’t be collected or donated because of regulations on meat inspections and on feral hog transport.
According to the State Game and Fish Commission, trapping is the normal and more effective way to take out the invasive hogs. Shooting them may only result in one or two of a group (called a sounder) being killed and the remaining hogs will then spread out.
Currently, hunters can only kill feral hogs on some public lands during hunting seasons for other animals. On private land anyone who has not had a hunting license revoked can kill feral hogs at any time of year with landowner permission.