Texas Parks & Wildlife logo

Efficacy of Sodium Nitrite Based HOGGONE® in a Controlled Free Range Setting

Research conducted in a pen setting has identified HOGGONE® as an effective sodium nitrite based oral toxicant for feral swine, and related studies have identified feeder designs as feral swine specific delivery systems, outside of bear habitat. Though feral swine readily consumed HOGGONE® from open top troughs in pen trials, uncertainty remains as to how feral swine behavior will affect consumption and mortality rates in free range populations feeding from species specific delivery systems.

Our team is conducting controlled free-range trials in a 121.5-ha pasture located on Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Kerr Wildlife Management Area. Trials will be conducted with known densities of feral swine at 3 different levels (low: 1 sounder, medium: 2 sounders, and high: 3 sounders), and each density will be replicated 4 times over the course of one year. Simple computations of proportions of swine in each treatment which succumb to sodium nitrite poisoning will be the metrics of toxicant and delivery system efficacy.

Behavior at feeders will be analyzed through three metrics indexed by imagery and video:

  1. the amount of bait used
  2. the amount of time spent feeding
  3. the number of individuals which open the bait box vs. the number that access the bait

These tests will indicate how delivery methods and mortality rates associated with HOGGONE® translate to a free range setting prior to establishing a research design to be used under an Experimental Use Permit for registration of a pesticide with the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Λ