Note: This story, originally reported in July 2017, is being republished.
When Wade Seago heard his dog continuously barking outside his home, he never expected to find an 820-pound hog on his front lawn.
Seago resides in rural Samson, Alabama, where encounters with wildlife are common. His schnauzer, Cruiser, typically barks at deer or raccoons that roam the neighborhood.
Initially, Seago didn’t pay much attention to Cruiser’s barking. However, when his daughter began screaming, he rushed to investigate.
“I jumped up to see what was going on,” Seago told AL.com. “I looked out the back window and saw nothing, so I ran to the front of the house where my daughter was looking out the window. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
Standing about 5 yards from his front porch was a feral hog with tusk-like teeth, each approximately 6 inches long. Concerned for his family’s safety, Seago retrieved his .38 caliber revolver.
“By the time I got in a position to shoot, the hog was about 12 yards away,” he recounted. “Cruiser was out of my line to the hog so I fired.”
It took three shots to bring down the hog. The following day, Seago weighed the animal at Brooks Peanut Company on a drive-thru scale, discovering it weighed a staggering 820 pounds.
Seago, who operates a taxidermy business and enjoys recreational deer hunting, had encountered wild hogs before but never one of this size.
Feral hogs are prevalent in Alabama and are considered invasive, breeding rapidly with few natural predators. They pose a significant threat to indigenous plants and ecosystems, causing an estimated $800 million in agricultural damage annually according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Seago plans to preserve the hog’s head and shoulders at his taxidermy shop. Due to concerns about the meat’s safety, he decided not to consume the animal.
“It’s so humid down here it had to hang all night. I wouldn’t trust the meat,” he explained.
Alabama law allows hunters to control the growing hog population by permitting unlimited hunting on private property.
Seago expressed no regrets about his decision to shoot the hog, emphasizing the potential threat it posed to his family’s safety.
“I didn’t think twice about taking down this hog,” he asserted. “I’d do it again tomorrow.”
Sources: AL.com, AP via The Washington Post
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