Outdoor Truths

Gary Miller

  While this time of the year is all about the fishing, I’m heading to South Carolina to hunt hogs. This is one of the most fun hunts anyone can take. And while I know of those who hunt these animals with just a knife, I will be keeping my distance from these cantankerous creatures by using my rifle. The goal is to garner some pork for my freezer and to provide some meat for a friend’s ministry as well.

  The wild hog has become a nuisance in most states where they are found. They eat just about anything and destroy fields and crops. They have a resiliency that is impressive. I’m not sure of any environment where they would not be able to thrive in, if introduced there. And therein lays the problem. Most game commissions are trying frantically to either eliminate them or keep them from spreading into new areas. My own state has now taken some pretty drastic measures in order to get rid of these hogs. But because they breed several times a year, drastic measures will be the only kind that will work. To say, however, that one day they will all be gone, would be reaching. Many of the deep southern states have learned to adapt by having liberal hunting laws and also by just realizing that no matter how many are killed, more will take their places. I hope to do my part in the next few days of eliminating some of the problems. I mean the problems of need.

  While wild hogs present a problem for some, they are also the answer for others. In every state, there are those that lack the food they need for their family. Many of these we will never see because most of us don’t run in the same circles on a regular basis. But they are there and according to the Bible, it is our responsibility to locate them and to help in meeting their needs. I am so glad that the government has allowed hunters to provide meat for those in need without going through some of the regulations that regular producers have to. This allows us to not only help control much of the wildlife population but to do so while providing for others. It used to be that once our own freezers were filled, we were done. Now we can continue to harvest animals and give the meat from that game to others who really need it.

  Jesus said we would always have the poor with us. But He also said that you and I are to help in meeting their needs. Sometimes we must do that through sacrifice and other times we can do it through something as fun as hunting. Either way, we are the ones who are blessed.

Gary Miller
gary@outdoortruths.org