RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia lawmakers are weighing a proposal to let wildlife officials shoot feral hogs from helicopters.
The Virginian-Pilot reports that the measure introduced by Del. Barry Knight seeks to give the state a new strategy to eliminate the destructive wild hogs at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and False Cape State Park.
America is home to as many as 5 million feral hogs but their number in Virginia is thought to be in the thousands. The animals wreak havoc on marshes, shrubs and wheat fields and can carry diseases that can be passed on to livestock.
The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries says it would likely contract with federal officials, who have their own helicopters and marksmen.
Virginia's House of Delegates approved the bill this month.
