After 68 hours of a helicopter operation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services, in cooperation with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, removed several hundred feral hogs from national wildlife refuges, wildlife management areas and private lands in the state.

Crews were able to remove a total of 673 feral hogs from more than 376,000 acres in 13 days of flying. Properties flown included Big Lake NWR, Dale Bumpers White River NWR, UA Pine Tree Experimental Station WDA, Trusten Holder WMA, Big Lake WMA, St. Francis Sunken Lands WMA, Freddie Black Choctaw Island WMA Deer Research Area and Cut-Off Creek WMA as well as 52 private landowners.

The aerial operations are the result of planning and coordination of multiple partners, condensed into several days of actual operations. The AGFC, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and USDA APHIS would like to thank the public for their patience and understanding while the activities were underway and apologize for any inconvenience related to the operation.