A U.S. District judge ruled against an attempt by animal rights activists to halt the killing of feral pigs on Santa Cruz Island, one of the Channel Islands off the southern California coast.

The National Park Service and the Nature Conservancy, which jointly own the island 18 miles off the Ventura County coast, said the pigs damaged archeological sites and threatened nine native plant species and, indirectly, the Santa Cruz Island fox. The fox, about the size of a house cat, has been the prey of golden eagles, which officials said came to the island about 15 years ago to feed on the nonnative pigs......More than 4,800 feral pigs have been killed, and an estimated 85% of the island has been cleared, said Yvonne Menard, a park service spokeswoman. The remaining pigs are expected to be eliminated by year's end.

Richard M. Feldman, a Santa Barbara County businessman pursuing the lawsuit, said he would appeal the decision. "This was totally expected — we knew the judge had no empathy for the pigs and was totally in line with the government," he said. "I'm like a bulldog on this thing. We're not going to let it go." Feldman is joined in his suit by Robert Puddicombe, founder of the Channel Islands Animal Protection Assn., as well as In Defense of Animals.

My empathy for feral pigs, also known as wild boars, is scant. There are a variety of reasons feral pigs are not the top of anyone's agenda, except that of a very few. More in this article from The Telegraph (U.K.).

Along with the spread of the tusked pigs come increasing fears for the safety of humans, livestock and crops, as well as the threat of an urban invasion. In Germany, where the boars are vigorously hunted, there are up to 7,000 living in the centre of Berlin. Apart from carrying swine fever, foot and mouth and bovine TB, the animals eat crops, cause traffic accidents and may, if cornered or feeling threatened, attack humans.

Sarah Bell of Anderson, Texas is no feral hog fan herself. She writes in the Navasota (Texas) Examiner she can't believe the state ag department is going to spend $400,000 to study what to do about 'em, considering they're cast-off on back roads by breeders, then wreak havoc on fields and farm equipment. First-hand, she's gathered and tried to report the license plate numbers of Grimes County pig dumpers, but the sheriff's office hasn't helped, Bell writes.

In Wisconsin, state officials are going so far as to advise hunters on just the right way to shoot feral pigs dead. To control feral pig population growth, England is lifting a ban on their hunting.

Eating wild boar is not advised. Yet some folks just can't resist, and may pay dearly as a result.

TECHNORATI TAGS: FERAL PIGS, ERADICATION, HUNTING, SANTA CRUZ ISLAND, CHANNEL ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK, LAWSUIT, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, NATURE CONSERVANCY, WILD BOARS