HOGS - AN INVASIVE SPECIES

Feral Pig Killed Readstown May 16 2008 

Odds 'n' ends: Big, hairy pig attracts gawkers in Wisconsin

VIROQUA, Wis. - A steady stream of vehicles pulled along the shoulder of the road to get a look at it: an enormous, hairy pig that apparently had been struck and killed by a vehicle.

"I took a look to see if it had any tusks," Andy Sherry of Viroqua said. "If it did, somebody got to them before I did. It was really a big, big pig."

Large populations of the hard-to-find, feral animals are thought to live in southwestern Wisconsin.

The animal was found on the highway five miles south of Viroqua 61 Friday morning. It appeared to have been dragged from the center of the road, and it had a severe head wound.

Vernon County chief deputy Jim Hanson said a semi driver hit the 450- to 500-pound sow early Friday and apparently didn't have reportable damage. He said a removal company took care of the carcass.  "It's not a real common occurrence," he said.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources considers feral pigs an exotic species that poses a threat to the environment and to agriculture. Anyone with a small-game license is allowed to hunt them at any time of the year.