In the last week, the papers have been full of the back-and-forth between Pine Bluff's mayor, the police, the city council and a particular animal of the porcine variety. It seems a police officer in that city had responded to a call about feral pigs in the Industrial Park area and shot what was said to be a pet.
The poor pig in question didn't have an ID tag on its ear, according to the cops. And the officer did what officers do in that situation: Shoot the thing. Now there's a controversy regarding whether cops should be in the animal control business in Pine Bluff, a mayor's veto of a council's decision, and so Pine Bluff-ily on. We're not getting into that argument.
But one comment from one alderman did stand out, and not in a good way, like pink pork. It was from Glen Brown Sr., who seemed to be taken aback by anybody who'd shoot a hog:
"If you beat a dog with a stick, and someone saw you, they would call the police and have you arrested," he suggested. "Shooting a pig from a car seems to show a bad mind."
A bad mind? Maybe the alderman hasn't been to many rural areas of Arkansas lately. Shooting pigs is not the sign of a bad mind, but a necessity. Farmers are losing crops, pastureland, game birds, and who knows what else to the feral pig population, which has exploded. At some deer camps, it's a requirement to shoot feral hogs on sight. And heaven help anybody who falls in the woods and can't get help quickly.
Doubtless they'll find something else to argue about in Pine Bluff next week. (That's entertainment!) But as far as the damage feral pigs are doing in Arkansas, well, there's no arguing that.
Editorial on 06/27/2016