The French explorer, Jean de Surville, first introduced pigs to
New Zealand in 1769. A pair was presented to Maori at Doubtless Bay in the Karikari Peninsula. However, it is thought they probably didn’t survive. Four years later, James cook introduced the first species of New Zealand wild pig. This was a black pig with a long snout, a Razorback considered similar to the Tamworth breed.
Late in the 19th century, the Berkshire type was also introduced and an Asian species the Maori called the Kune Kune was sent by Governor King from New South Wales. This pig was a gift to a Maori chief in the Bay of Islands. At times domestic animals escaped into the wilderness. The wild pig now varies in colour and size and can stand up to 80 centimetres at the shoulder and weigh as much as 140 kilograms. Maori quickly took up pig hunting. Pork was a useful supplement to their diet.
New Zealand in 1769. A pair was presented to Maori at Doubtless Bay in the Karikari Peninsula. However, it is thought they probably didn’t survive. Four years later, James cook introduced the first species of New Zealand wild pig. This was a black pig with a long snout, a Razorback considered similar to the Tamworth breed.
Late in the 19th century, the Berkshire type was also introduced and an Asian species the Maori called the Kune Kune was sent by Governor King from New South Wales. This pig was a gift to a Maori chief in the Bay of Islands. At times domestic animals escaped into the wilderness. The wild pig now varies in colour and size and can stand up to 80 centimetres at the shoulder and weigh as much as 140 kilograms. Maori quickly took up pig hunting. Pork was a useful supplement to their diet.
From the end of the eighteenth century, farmers struggled to buy their first land and often put meat on the table through hunting wild pig.
The World Wars were a time when many farms and stations reverted back to scrub and light bush. Wild pigs flourished at these times. Pork was a meat that helped feed the families that remained home and continued to do so when soldiers returned and began to re-establish their farms. Some ex-soldiers received land from the Land Ballot system. These new land owners also hunted wild pig as they worked to make their land viable.
A Farm boy in cavalry breeches, typical of a poor family member who might
have hunted wild pigs to put meat on the table.
Courtesy of Auckland Weekly News.
Many hunters consider wild pigs the only truly dangerous game animal in New Zealand. Furrows and rooting in the ground are often the best indication that wild pigs are close and deep furrows can be a sign of larger animals. Chewed-up lambs or other carcasses are sometimes evidence that pigs are in a particular area.
Photo: Courtesy of the Jo Curtis collection. jo@huntingaotearoa.com
Dogs are often used to help in the pursuit of wild pig. Hunters continue to learn by observing their dogs’ behavior while hunting. There is huge excitement when solitude is disrupted by the sound of frantic barking, crashing scrub and snorting pig. The sprinting or charging swine can be an adrenalin rush for both dogs and hunters. A chase is hopefully reduced to a steady bail. After that, the dogs must stay out of reach from the forward thrust of tusks.
Photo: Courtesy of the Jo Curtis collection. jo@huntingaotearoa.com
Most pig dogs are crossbreeds; a planned mixture of canine
Dogs are often used to help in the pursuit of wild pig. Hunters continue to learn by observing their dogs’ behavior while hunting. There is huge excitement when solitude is disrupted by the sound of frantic barking, crashing scrub and snorting pig. The sprinting or charging swine can be an adrenalin rush for both dogs and hunters. A chase is hopefully reduced to a steady bail. After that, the dogs must stay out of reach from the forward thrust of tusks.
Most pig dogs are crossbreeds; a planned mixture of canine
genetics. There are three types of dog commonly used; finders,
bailers and holders. Finders are often the lead dog in a pack.
They have a very keen sense of smell and help a pack or lone
hunter locate the pig. It is often said that a good finder is born
and not made.
Bailers harass a pig sufficiently to make it stop and defend itself until a hunter aims a shot into it at close range with a high calibre rifle. Bailers’ bloodlines can vary. Cattle Dog, Labrador and Greyhound are crossbreeds that are sometimes used.
Bailers harass a pig sufficiently to make it stop and defend itself until a hunter aims a shot into it at close range with a high calibre rifle. Bailers’ bloodlines can vary. Cattle Dog, Labrador and Greyhound are crossbreeds that are sometimes used.
Good holders prevent pigs from getting away. They grab a pig’s ears, front legs or the back of the animal and try to hold the pig firm and steady. Their bloodlines are often Bull Terrier and a mixture of other breeds. The Bull Terrier genes give the aggressiveness and strong jaws needed while the other types add the initiative and agility to avoid injury.
Cattle dogs are sometimes used again in this context. Holding breeds are invaluable when a hunter moves in and sticks a pig with a knife or gives a precise blow with a meat cleaver or machete.
Since the beginning, hunters have debated theories about the best breeds or crossbreeds to use on the job. Siblings can vary in their ability and training techniques are often diverse.
Pig dogs get frequent injuries, so many wear a wide leather collar to protect their throats from being punctured or ripped. Some pigs are found to have large rips in their ears or other injuries when captured. This is from past dog hunting attacks when the pig has escaped.
In more modern times, hunters sometimes use electronic tracking collars to stay in touch with their dogs. Pig hunters are mostly very fit as they need to run through rough cover and lug massive lumps of pork across hilly country on their return trips home. There is often supplejack, gorse, bracken or other dense bush to push through and the danger of falling over a cliff, into a deep hole or being stung by stinging nettles is always a risk. Stinging nettles can cause difficulty breathing and muscle spasms.
Over the years pig hunting competitions have been held annually throughtout the country.
James Fagan
Palmerston North
New Zealand
Pig HunterThe wild pig hunter is out on the hunt.
His main finder dog, a Fox-Terrier runt.
and Bull-Terrier cross and Greyhound
and Labrador, is his mix for a pig hunting war
and some cattle dog blood.
He starts early in the morning, without a horse.
He walks up through the gorse,
to a track, with a rifle and knife,
before the dogs come across a pig
standing in tussock ground,
a boar, a hundred and sixty pound.
The pig runs at the hunter, grunting his sound.
The hunter falls backward, on the ground.
The boar turns and goes for the dogs,
trying to gore the one in the middle of the pack.
The hunter lifts his gun, but his sight is blurred by the sun.
The pack is around him, making a din,
snapping and snarling.
So is it the knife, or a shot with the gun,
as the dogs try not to get ripped, in their fun? James Fagan
Palmerston North
New Zealand
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.