Rural Missouri is being plagued by a “dark force” according to one landowner: feral hogs.

Rural Ozark County landowner Mark Eisenmann told the Ozark County Times that feral hogs are overtaking the farmland in Ozark, leading landowners – fearful for both their safety and their crop – to join forces with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) to “eradicate” feral hogs in the state.

Feral hogs have become an increasing problem in the United States in recent years, with population growth outpacing containment efforts. Texas, which has the largest feral hog population in the U.S., is home to nearly 2.6 million feral hogs, and the annual population growth is estimated at 21%. Other states such as Louisiana and South Carolina have also seen an uptick in feral hog population growth in recent years, prompting the creation of entities such as the South Carolina Wild Hog Task Force.

At the heart of the extraordinary growth of the feral hog population is the sow, a female feral hog that has reproduced. The sow’s rapid breeding rate and innate protective behavior is a large contributing factor to the feral hog population.

Local leaders in Anderson County, South Carolina have called in the South Carolina Wild Hog Task Force to educate residents on how to protect their property as the feral hog problem in the county continues to grow exponentially.

On your next hunt, make sure you take full advantage of hog vulnerabilities. Here are just a few.