Hunting contests are a chance to compete for prizes and bragging rights.
But sometimes hunters take things too far in their quest for glory.
And chaos erupted after this hog hunting contest ended up in a worst case scenario.
Louisiana state-run hog hunting contest rocked by major cheating scandal
Feral pigs are a major problem across the southeastern United States. They’re one of the most destructive invasive species on the planet. They destroy crops and infrastructure, spread disease, and wreak havoc on local ecosystems.
In Louisiana, wild hogs are estimated to do nearly $100 million in damage yearly to farms and timber lands. They can be hunted year-round during daylight hours with no bag limit. Hog hunting contests in rural Louisiana have become a fun way to compete for bragging rights while keeping the big pig population under control. But sometimes hunters cross the line during the heat of competition.
Six hunters were arrested by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) enforcement agents for cheating in small hog hunting contests in the northern part of the state. Trace Davis, Hunter Webb, Davy Haymon, Don Pollard Jr., Coby Bushnell, and Nathan Granger were charged with hunting contest fraud and criminal conspiracy. Davis, Webb, Bushnell, Haymon, and Pollard Jr. were also charged with violating interstate commerce laws.
They allegedly took part in an effort to rig two small-time local hog hunting contests. One of the contests was simply for bragging rights, while the other had a cash prize of a few hundred dollars.
Louisiana wildlife officials discovered that the six men traveled to Texas to capture wild hogs that were transported back into the state to be used in the hog hunts. The hogs were used to rig the Dingler Wild Hog Roundup in Bienville Parish and Swamp Time Hog Hunt in Caldwell Parish. The hunting contests required that the hogs be harvested in Louisiana during the dates they were held. Hunting contest fraud carries a fine of up to $3,000 and a year in jail.
The hog hunts had four to five man teams compete in them. Contestants were given a randomly assigned number by the organizers at the beginning of the hunt. They would take pictures with their hogs holding up the number given to them by organizers. Bringing home the heaviest hogs would win the contest.
Randy Dingler has been putting on the Dingler Wild Hog Roundup for 10 years. He said that it was Louisiana wildlife officials who tipped him off that everything wasn’t on the up and up at his contest.
“You always have somebody wanting to cheat,” Dingler told Outdoor Life. “But luckily, we got Wildlife and Fisheries, and they stepped in and did what they did. I never would have known.”
Winning his hog hunting contest got the men custom-made belt buckles and sacks of feed that were provided by one of the event sponsors. They won an additional cash prize of $180 for bringing home the biggest boar.
“This winning team had the biggest boar, if I’m not mistaken,” Dingler said. “And they also got first place. They had the heaviest weight of five hogs.”
The Swamp Time Hog Hunt had a cash prize of $1,558 for bringing home the heaviest five hogs by average weight. They received an additional prize for the biggest sow, $800, and for the biggest boar, $1,100. Dalton Moses, who puts on the hunt, was stunned that anyone would cheat in the family-friendly contest.
“We don’t do polygraphs and all that stuff, but it’s probably something we’re going to do in the future,” Moses told Outdoor Life. “In the past, we’ve made this work with an honor system, but I guess they proved you can’t do that anymore.”
Cheating to take home local bragging rights could prove costly to the Louisiana hunters if they’re convicted. Cheating in a hunting contest, like elsewhere, doesn’t pay.
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