Here's Why the Internet Is Freaking out About Feral Hogs
Updated Aug. 6 2019, 9:56 a.m. ET
If you logged on today and noticed the entire internet is losing it over 30-50 feral hogs, you might have been confused. That's understandable! On a normal day, you probably don't think twice about feral hogs, let alone 30-50 of them. But there's a legit reason why everyone is freaking out over feral hogs, and it all started with a response to the tragic shooting that happened over the weekend (over a span of two days, more than 31 people were killed, and 53 injured in two separate mass shootings).
So...what's with the feral hogs and where did they come from?
On Aug. 4, Twitter user Jason Isbell wrote, "If you're on here arguing the definition of an 'assault weapon' today you are part of the problem. You know what an assault weapon is, and you know you don't need one." The tweet alone has over 41.8k hearts at the time of reporting.
Someone named William McNabb responded by tweeting, "Legit question for rural Americans - How do I kill the 30-50 feral hogs that run into my yard within 3-5 mins while my small kids play?" According to William's Twitter, he describes himself as a "Husband/Father/Christian/Libertarian/Western Carolina University Alum/ & Fan of Pearl Jam & Red Sox." Not only is he fan of '90s alt rock and baseball, but he apparently has a feral hog problem.
The absurdity of William's response and his feral hog problem went, uh, hog wild. While we don't want to derail from the real issues at hand, it's also hard not to watch Twitter explode over one guy's weird tweet. And maybe, just maybe, it's a nice distraction from all the horror and sadness we've been experiencing. Here are some of the best feral hog tweets and memes:
Anyway, it doesn't just end there. Jason responded to William's tweet by saying, "If you have dozens of hogs chasing your children around your yard, you have problems no weapon will fix." And honestly, true.
Okay, but...are feral hogs actually dangerous?
According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, "In a natural state, feral hogs will prefer to run and escape danger, and are not considered dangerous. Extreme caution should be maintained when tracking wounded animals, trapping animals or encountering females with young. Their razor sharp tusks combined with their lightning speed can cause serious injury."
So, no, they're not *super* dangerous, but also they're really, really fast, so it's best not to piss one (or 30-50) off.