Human Deaths From Feral Hogs Is On The Rise: What Can Texas Do To Curb The Trend?

It sounds like something straight out of a horror movie: packs of powerful, vicious, and freakishly intelligent creatures roaming the countryside and even in the suburbs, attacking animals, property, and even humans.

Despite efforts to eradicate these invaders, their numbers only grow, and the damage they cause gets more expensive and dangerous. That's the reality of feral pigs in Texas. 

Have People Died From Feral Hog Attacks In Texas?

Yes, there have been documented attacks and deaths by feral hogs in Texas. According to one study by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, out of 412 feral hog attacks* in North America, 24% happened in Texas, showing that the problem is most severe in our state.

*in the study, an attack was defined as a dangerous encounter with a feral hog, resulting in the person having to flee, be "treed", injured or killed. 

In 1996, a hunter was killed in Texas by a wounded feral hog. In 2019, a woman was killed in the front yard of a Texas home by a pack of feral hogs.

Read More: Texans Hate Feral Hogs (With Good Reason) But This Fact Is Cute

According to ABC News, Christine Rollins sustained multiple injuries and died due to "exsanguination (severe blood loss) due to feral hog assault."

Is The Feral Hog Problem Getting Worse?

A study published in Human-Wildlife Interactions found feral pigs to be more deadly than sharks.

AgWeb paraphrased the study in this stark and eye-opening way:

According to groundbreaking research published in 2023, the number of humans killed by wild pig attacks steadily climbed (my emphasis) from 2000 to 2019, for a total of 172 deaths—including a freakishly grisly fatality in southeast Texas [the aforementioned case of Christine Rollins].

Read More: Out Of Control: Feral Hogs Cause Massive Damage To Texas Park

The study found that most deaths happened to the elderly and people working in an agricultural setting, and that most died from blood loss from the attack.

Is There A Solution To The Feral Hog Problem In Texas?

The problem with feral hogs is that they are exceptionally talented at survival. Because they can and do eat everything- from insects and plants to trash and baby mammals, they can reproduce at an alarming rate.

Read More: Invasive And Dangerous: Deadly Feral Hog Attacks In Texas

And before you feel bad for them, know that they are a non-native, invasive animal here in Texas, which disrupts native plants and animals, in addition to wreaking havoc on agriculture.

According to the Texas Farm Bureau, the population of feral hogs can be culled by trapping, hunting, and "chemical" control, that is, poison. I have some issues with the later as the poison can be ingested by other animals.

I believe the only real solution is aggressive funding for trapping and hunting, both inside Texas and in other problem areas of the U.S. Otherwise, we are simply allowing ourselves to be outsmarted by hogs.