“Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver has a uncommon present: he could make even academic segments on dry subjects like civil forfeiture appear compelling as a result of his use of satire and infrequently self-referential humor. On the June 21, 2026, episode, he dug deep into one of many deadliest risks that Individuals didn’t even know existed: feral hogs.
On the floor, it looks as if a reasonably innocuous matter. Feral hogs are sweeping via a majority of states, destroying crops and endangering individuals and animals. They’re extraordinarily sensible, capable of escape traps with ease, and it appears that there’s nothing that they received’t devour – and that features peanuts.
Though the hogs themselves do pose a menace, it does harken again to a bigger political problem: gun management. And the topic of hogs and gun management truly hyperlinks again to an unlikely supply: Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and guitarist Jason Isbell from Alabama.
Inside The Origin Of The 30-50 Feral Hogs Meme
In August 2019, Isbell tweeted, “When you’re on right here arguing the definition of ‘assault weapon’ immediately, you’re a part of the issue. You already know what an assault weapon is, and you understand you don’t want one.”
A consumer named William McNabb replied to the tweet later that very same day, asking, “Legit query for rural Individuals – How do I kill the 30-50 feral hogs that run into my yard inside 3-5 minutes whereas my small youngsters play?”
The tweet spawned many memes and jokes, however the next month, the Daily Inter Lake reported that giant roving packs of feral hogs had been approaching the U.S. Canada border via Montana. On the time, Dale Nolte of the USDA’s Nationwide Feral Swine Program mentioned that if the hogs had been to invade the U.S., it might “be a catastrophe.”
The tweet resurfaced once more in February 2025, when somebody posted a picture of a giant hog hoisted onto the again of a truck with the caption, “That is what occurs when home hogs interbreed with wild hogs. They get bigger every technology.”
It prompted the reply: “We as a society owe an apology to the 30-50 feral hogs man.”
Are Feral Hogs Truly A Menace?
Alarmingly, sure, feral hogs are literally a menace to crops and other people alike. A part of the issue? Within the phrases of John Oliver, “They can’t cease f-cking.” In line with the Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management, feral swine have the best reproductive price of any giant mammal. Females can begin breeding as early as six months previous, gestation lasts solely 115 days, and sows can produce two litters per 12 months.
Every litter measurement can vary from 4 to 12 piglets, with every wild hog dwelling an estimated 4 to eight years. With these feminine piglets reaching maturity in simply six months, the variety of feral hogs can develop exponentially in only some years. Based mostly on this replica price, wildlife companies estimate that between 70 and 75% of the wild hog inhabitants have to be eliminated yearly to stop the inhabitants from growing.
The Feral Hog Disaster In Texas
Texas is likely one of the hardest hit areas relating to invasive feral hogs. In April 2026, southbound visitors on I-45 close to Dallas got here to a screeching halt after a number of feral hogs had been hit and killed, as per CBS News. That report got here solely three days after Mesquite residents demanded that town do one thing in regards to the feral hogs.
One resident shared movies with CBS News Texas that confirmed hogs working via the neighborhood at evening. In a single video, a pack of about six hogs could be seen working throughout his driveway.
“I’ve warned individuals within the neighborhood, ‘don’t stroll out right here after darkish since you may encounter the hogs, they change into frightened, they usually may assault.’ That’s the largest concern, public security,” mentioned native resident Ted Faulkner.
How Did Feral Pigs Get To America?
For feral hogs to be an invasive species, they needed to have come from elsewhere. As Oliver mentions in his report, the pigs had been first launched to the West Indies, referred to as the Caribbean, by Christopher Columbus in 1493. They had been later transported to the continental U.S. by Hernando de Soto in 1539 via Florida. Though the pigs had been as soon as a low-maintenance meals supply, explorers left them behind as they traveled north, they usually thus turned feral.
Now, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) notes that wild pigs are one of many prime 100 worst unique invasive species on the earth. In 2007, researchers estimated that Individuals spent greater than $1.5 billion in damages and management prices associated to wild hogs. As of 2020, the estimated price has risen to $2.1 billion.
Along with their ecological and agricultural impacts, wild hogs can contaminate water sources and transmit illness to different animals. However their assaults will also be deadly. In 2019, CBS News Texas reported {that a} girl was discovered lifeless on the house of an aged couple she was caring for after she was attacked by a bunch of untamed hogs.
Issues in Texas have gotten so excessive that, in 2017, state lawmakers authorized a legislation that may allow hunters to shoot wild pigs and coyotes from hot air balloons.
The place Can I Be taught Extra About Feral Hogs?
When you’re taken with studying extra about feral hogs, you don’t want a subscription to HBO Max, though you’ll need one to look at the total episode, which incorporates an introduction in regards to the World Cup and the beer scarcity in Boston.
John Oliver’s 27-minute section on the feral hog downside is out there to stream at no cost on YouTube.
