An Interview with Boar Hunter JR Arizpe

I recently got the opportunity to sit down and talk with a very nice-looking young gentleman who has a very strange hobby. He loves to hunt for wild boar! You know, the kind with the long tusks that look really mean? Here in Florida, wild pigs are considered a nuisance animal, and hunters are paid to remove them and relocate them to a non-nuisance area. They actually use trail dogs, also called bay dogs, and catch dogs to acquire the hog and then tackle them. Then the legs and mouth get tied with duct tape.

Mr. JR Arizpe is 28 years old and has been hunting this way since he was in his teens. He is a very broad shouldered and strong looking man so, I'm sure he has no problem tackling these big creatures but you wouldn't find me out there trying to find one on purpose. There is no other way to describe this man's stature other than the old southern expression of "big ol' redneck".

GGF (Girl Gone Fishing): JR what on earth would make you even want to consider hunting in this manner? Wouldn't it be easier just to shoot the hog?

JR: I compare it to duck hunting where you enjoy training the dogs and watching them develop and grow into working adults that really enjoy their work. When you put a dog to work, you put them back to their natural state. A dog's basic instinct is to hunt. My Great Grampa Hollis Smith hunted in this same fashion and his ancestors before him did also. I'm sure they may not have had duct tape back then, but they still used dogs to catch, trail and bay the pig. There is a very good book I've read many times that also discusses hunting in this fashion right here in Florida called "A Land Remembered."

GGF: How many dogs are required to do this?

JR: A beginner could get away with two trail/bay dogs and one catch dog. It is better to have more of course for rest and recovery purposes. If you were going to be hunting for the entire night across a vast area, you would be better off with four to ten dogs so that they can take turns. If you only have two trail or bay dogs and one catch dog and one gets hurt, you can't hunt anymore. (Chuckles)

GGF: How do you go about training a dog to hunt like this?

JR: It's always best to start out with a puppy that you are raising yourself in order to build a trust and a companion relationship between yourself and the dog. Once the puppy reaches about eight months old, it is time to start training. It's really simple, you just introduce the dog to a hog and watch his reactions. If he hasn't started being able to smell the trail of a hog by the time he is a year old then, he is not going to be a good hunting dog. If he tries to catch the hog then he is for sure going to be a good catch dog.

The best way to do this if you are a beginner is to go with someone who has experienced hunting dogs because the puppy will try to emulate them. Also, the puppies will start to get into the hunting thing so hardily that they will start trailing everything! You have to scold them when they trail or catch something other than a pig and show them encouragement and praise when they catch or trail one.

GGF: What type of dogs do you need?

JR: Cur dogs and pit bulls are the best. I mostly use Cur dogs for trailing and baying. I mostly use pit bulls for catch dogs. Cur dogs are a lot smarter than pit bulls so, if I am able to train a Cur dog that can also catch then that is a perfect dog.

GGF: What do you feed them?

JR: I feed my dogs Purina Puppy Chow no matter how old they are.

GGF: Why?

JR: Well, because it has lots of fat and protein the dogs need because they burn a lot of energy and fat while they are hunting.

GGF: What are your favorite places to hunt?

JR: My favorites are right here in Central and Southern Florida. Orange groves, cabbage heads, sugar cane fields and oak hammocks are best.

GGF: What are cabbage heads?

JR: It is a grouping of cabbage palms. There are always a lot of saw palmettos located around cabbage heads. It makes it harder for the human because of the thickness of the growth, but it is a lot easier on the dogs because they can catch the hog easier in the thicket. You wouldn't want to hunt your dogs in a pine area because the ground is very dry and barren. The dogs have to do a lot more chasing than catching in a pine area.

GGF: What is the best time to go?

JR: An hour before sunset all the way till an hour after sunrise is best. Of course that can be stretched a little during the winter months.

GGF: Ok, we've talked all about the dogs what about the humans? I know for sure that those hogs don't get the duct tape on by themselves.

JR: Well, the Cur dogs trail the hog by scent then they bay the hog by circling around it and barkin' up a storm. That's when I release the catch dog, normally a pit bull. The catch dog grabs the hog by the ear and holds him steady until I can attack the hog. I grab the hog by the back legs kinda like if he was a wheelbarrow and then I twist him over on his side. One knee gets placed on the neck of the hog and the other in the rib area. Then I duct tape the legs.

GGF: Since the mouth has the great big teeth and the huge tusks if it's a boy, I would want to tape the mouth first! Why would you tape the legs instead?

JR: Well I never bother to tape the mouth if the hog is over 180 or so pounds because I have to drag it out of the woods by the back legs anyways. I only duct tape the mouth if I'm going to carry the hog out of the woods on my shoulders.

GGF: Last question JR; is it true that you actually turned down an interview with this Associate Content producer just last night because you were in the middle of watching "Happy Feet"?

JR: (Chuckle) That's true. Anybody who's ever seen the movie would totally understand.

Well, that's it folks. That's the way it's done here in the south. I was so proud to be able to interview this Florida native who lives the life the way it should be lived. "Off the land and in the sun till the neck gets red and the sun sets dead." That's my very own quote from me to my son ya'll so don't steal it. I'm quite proud to be the Mama of this fine young man named JR. He is my heart and soul and I can't even start to explain how proud I am of what he was, what has become and what he is headed to be.