Pig problems persist in the East Bay suburbs, where the porkers are destroying property and risk contaminating the drinking water.

Oh sure, we all had a good laugh at the 30-50 feral hogs meme of August 2019, a funny footnote to the online discourse following the El Paso Walmart shooting that had just taken place. But the pig predicament hit home a few months later when a Texas woman was killed by a pick of the wild hogs. The problem is so bad in Texas that two counties are now offering $5 a pig bounties to hunters in hopes of thinning the pigs’ numbers.

And the New York Times reports the feral pig population is exploding in California, particularly in the East Bay. The pigs have recently done an enormous amount of crop damage and property damage, and are so aggressive that in Lafayette, the city has hired an official pig hunter.

“I guess there are a lot of people who think, ‘That guy is a psychopath, he likes killing pigs,’” that pig hunter Chris Davies told the Times. “I don’t enjoy killing them. But they are terrible animals.”

Just today, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat is out with an editorial saying that it’s about time we start slaughtering these feral pigs. Obviously wine country has a stake in this, because feral pigs tear up the vineyards. “The swine also carry diseases,” the paper says. “A single pig can host dozens of viruses, bacteria and parasites. They can pass those onto domestic farm animals and some to humans.”

“And there’s an environmental toll,” the paper adds. “Feral pigs tear up native ground cover and destroy the homes of native animal species such as ground-nesting birds. Their rooting along rivers and streams can cause erosion and declining water quality.”

Within the last couple of weeks, Napa state senator Bill Dodd introduced a bill to make it easier to hunt feral pigs. As it is now, landowners have to apply for a permit to hunt the pigs on their property, and hunters are required to purchase a tag for each individual pig they kill. Dodd’s bill would create a $15, all-you-can-kill, year-round pig hunting license.

“Swelling numbers of wild pigs have become a scourge on California wildlands, endangering sensitive habitats, farms and other animals,” Dodd said in a release. “They also present a major public health risk and have been linked to outbreaks of food-borne illness. My bill will increase opportunities to hunt them and do so more economically so that we may bring our pig population under control.”

In the grand scheme of things, the pig population may be exploding at an opportune moment. The agriculture sector says that a bacon shortage could be looming in light of other, unrelated new state regulations. So we can think of a solution to this problem... a very, very delicious solution.

Related: Man Of The Cloth Helps Save Mission District From Rampaging Piglet [SFist]

Image: @USGS via Twitter

2013 marks the fifth year of Cochon 555, a competition that pits five local chefs against one another to prepare a menu concocted from the entirety of heritage breed pigs for an audience of pork-loving epicureans and celebrated judges.

This year's competing chefs are Mark Richardson (of the Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco) Omri Aflalo (Bourbon Steak), Adam Sobel (RN74), Scott Youkilis (Hi Lo BBQ / Hog & Rocks), and Christopher Thompson (A16). The winner, selected from 20 judges and 400 guests, will be crowned the Prince of Pork and will later go up against other regional finalists at the Grand Cochon event in Aspen in June.

What: Cochon 555
When: Sunday, April 14; 4 p.m. (VIP); 5 p.m. (general admission)
Where: Four Seasons - 757 Market Street (at Third Street); S.F.
Tickets: $125 (general admission) and $200 (VIP); to purchase tickets

"Pork Delivery" by Brandon Doren.

This year's annual bacchanalia of pork and wine, Cochon 555, rears its savory head on Sunday, June 5. Will you be there? Well, you should. "Officially, the event is all about promoting heritage pig breeds and blah blah blah, but clearly for most, it's a chance for indulging their unadulterated pork passions and eat a lot of bacon," explains Grub Street.

And as far as this year's competition goes? We would swallow whatever these gentlemen put before us. They're that talented.

This year’s San Francisco competitors are David Varley of Michael Mina; Ravi Kapur of Prospect; Brandon Jew and Salvatore Cracco of Bar Agricole; our personal favorite SF chef, Matthew Accarrino of SPQR; and the eyelid-rippingly hot David Bazirgan of Fifth Floor.

Casting his blinding light of judgment on the evening's porcine party is none other than SFist's Jay Barmann. (Psst, he's also the man behind Grub Street SF. He's well versed in culinary thingamajigs like meat and thyme bundles and the proper way to fold napkin swans and bain-maries... you know, stuff like that.) He's already told you in explicit detail why California should turn into an early primary state and he just read this crazy techie-hippie to filth. So, you know, Cochon 555 competing chefs better be en pointe, dig?

Barmann joins the following local foodies turned judges:

Andy Peay, Peay Vineyards
Anthony Strong, Locanda
Caleb Zigas, La Cocina
Carleigh Connolly, Culinary Trends magazine
Dave McClean, Magnolia Brew
John Fink, The Whole Beast
Judy Rodgers, Zuni Café
Laura Werlin, Cheese Lady
Melanie Wong, Chowhound
Mark Dommen, One Market
Pax Mahle, Wind Gap Wines
Staffan Terje, Perbacco
Steve Becker, Fire Man
Tara Duggan, Bay Citizen

The winning chef will compete against other regional winners at the Grand Cochon finale in Aspen on June 19.

What: Cochon 555
When: Sunday, June 5
Where: Merchants Exchange Building, Julia Morgan Ballroom (465 California)
Time: 3:30 p.m. VIP; 5 p.m. general admission
Tickets: $125 general admission, $200 VIP. Purchase them here.

As disgusted as we were by the fact somebody left the remains of their microwaved 7 Eleven nachos on the guard rail of the 38 Geary, we have to admit to being somewhat amused by watching rider after rider walk by and stare for a few seconds to determine if getting a seat on a crowded bus was worth taking the chance that one bad jolt could cause half-eaten beans to wind up in their hair.