The Washington Post reports on a new concern for Beltway residents: feral pigs.
Wild pigs — not the cute kind you see at the petting zoo but the ones with black bristly coats, narrow snouts and long, self-sharpening tusks — have quietly established themselves in much of Virginia, according to the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The department estimates that there are between 2,500 and 3,000 wild pigs in the commonwealth. That may seem like a lot, but this number is well behind Texas, where, by one estimate, as many as 3.4 million wild pigs are at large. According to biologist Glen Askins of the Virginia game department, 36 states are coping with the consequences of wild pigs in their midst.
Today, the wild pigs that are closest to the District are living around Catlett, about 10 miles southwest of Manassas, according to Mike Dye, a biologist for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. In five to 10 years, the species could make its debut inside the Beltway, he says.
I've hunted the things. Tough, dangerous, wily animals. Now of all times, our nation's capital needs brave men like Paul Ryan to save the day!
