Wild hog killed near Britton

By Britton Journal

Britton residents Kyle Seibels and Cody Packard didn’t know what to think.

The duo was waiting at the end of a corn field to finish combining northwest of Britton Oct. 29 when an animal ran out of the end of the field.

“We really didn’t know what it was and shot it with a deer rifle,” said Seibels.  “It turned out to be a 280-pound wild hog.”

This wild hog was shot in a field near Britton, S.D. It may be the first wild hog killed in South Dakota. Photo by Kyle Seibels, courtesy Britton Journal

There are seasons on wild hogs in the southern states, but this may have been the first time that a hog has ever been shot in South Dakota.

“Quite possibly this is the only one ever killed in the state that we know of,” said Marshall County Conservation Officer Casey Dowler.  “To see one up here is pretty much unheard of, and it was a large specimen of a wild hog.  It was a pretty intimidating looking critter.”

Dowler said there are no GFP regulations pertaining to wild hogs in South Dakota, and he encouraged anyone seeing any type of wildlife that normally isn’t in the county to contact him at 605-881-3775.

“If you see something out of the ordinary it is probably not the best idea to shoot it,” said Dowler.  “There is nothing regulating hogs, but there are regulations on bear, moose, elk, and other types of animals.”

Dowler noted that wild hogs are an animal that is not wanted in South Dakota.

“It was kind of cool to see it shot in our county, but I hope that’s the only one.  We do not want wild hogs here.  They are horrible on crops, and the guys down south that do have these hogs wish that they didn’t.”