The illegal use of a highly toxic chemical to control feral hogs has had financial and emotional consequences for an unsuspecting Bowie County landowner.
Carolyn Folse, whose family owns the Folse Ranch near DeKalb, Texas, said her family was enjoying a Monday evening at home when friends who'd been walking the Folse property called with disturbing news. Animal carcasses in numbers too high to count littered the ranch.
"I can't tell you, as a nature lover, how emotional and shocking it was to see all those dead animals," Folse said. "It was all kinds of animals, a variety of wildlife. It was unbelievable."
The Folse family contacted their local game warden who launched an investigation into the mysterious die-off of Folse Ranch creatures. Immediately the authorities suspected a poison was to blame and that hunch was later confirmed through laboratory testing. Folse said game officials discovered feed corn on the property that was believed to have been laced with a poison. The animal carcasses had to be removed and a hazardous materials team was called in to deal with the polluted ground.
"I don't know how many loads (of carcasses) they carried out," Folse said. "The hazmat team came in those suits with the hoods and everything. They used some sort of a vacuum-type system to suck up the ground around where the corn had been placed."
Folse said containers of the dangerous dirt had to remain on her family's property until a report was complete that specifically identified the responsible toxin as aldicarb, sold under the brand name Temik. Only then could the hazardous waste be removed to an off-site disposal facility licensed to handle the material. Aldicarb can be ingested, absorbed through the skin or inhaled, according to the Environmental Protection Agency's website.
"We, as the landowners, had to pay for all the clean up. It was several thousand dollars," Folse said. "And the going back and forth to check on how things were going. It was very emotional and traumatic for me. We still have the fear, what if it got in the water? What about our pets or what if one of our grandchildren had picked up that corn and carried it up to the house to leave out for squirrels? It was like having someone come into your backyard."
The Folse family bought their Bowie County ranch property more than a decade ago.
"Since the Temik, we had the worst deer season we've seen in 11 years," Carolyn Folse said.
Folse said authorities immediately suspected aldicarb was to blame for the numerous animal and bird deaths.
"They call it 'Two step,' because the animal takes two steps and then it dies," Folse said. "Now that we knew what, the question was, who?"
John David Purviance, 46, pleaded guilty to a two-count information charging him with unlawful taking of migratory birds and unlawful use of a pesticide at a hearing before a federal judge in Texarkana last month. Purviance is expected to receive probation when sentenced for the misdemeanor offenses.
Carolyn Folse said Purviance did not have permission to come on the Folse Ranch.
Purviance coated feed corn with Temik-laced Karo syrup and placed it at 15 sites on and adjacent to the Folse ranch in an effort to combat feral hogs, according to a factual resume filed in his federal criminal case in the Texarkana Division of the Eastern District of Texas.
"I know those hogs are a menace," Carolyn Folse said.
And she's right. The animals once imported to the U.S. for sport hunting will eat virtually anything and devastate land on which they forage. Texas farmers and ranchers lose millions to the wild hog population each year and the hog pests have been known to tear up city parks. There is no seasonal or numerical limit in Texas for feral hog hunting.
Using Temik in a manner contrary to its labeling is against the law for good reason. The poison made thousands sick when Temik-tainted watermelons found their way into the kitchens of California consumers in 1985. According to the Environmental Protection Agency website, the EPA and Bayer CropScience, the manufacturer of the chemical, agreed to phase out the product for use in the U.S.
"A new risk assessment conducted by EPA based on recently submitted toxicity data indicates that aldicarb no longer meets our rigorous food safety standards and may pose unacceptable dietary risks, especially to infants and young children," states an Oct. 7, 2010, federal register notice available on the EPA's website. "To address the most significant risks, Bayer has agreed to first end aldicarb use on citrus and potatoes, and will adopt risk mitigation measures for other uses to protect groundwater resources. The company will voluntarily phase out production of aldicarb by December 31, 2014. All remaining aldicarb uses will end no later than August 2018. Additionally, EPA plans to revoke the tolerances (legal pesticide residues allowed in food) associated with these commodities. EPA initiated this action to ensure that we continue to have the safest food supply possible."
The notice states that the chemical has been used on a variety of agricultural crops including mainly cotton, potatoes and citrus. It has no residential uses.
Recently the anti-coagulent warfarin was approved for use in Texas to address the state's out-of-control wild pig population. Critics of the idea complain that people who unknowingly eat hog meat tainted with warfarin face possible health risks, particularly if they are already taking a pharmaceutical form of the chemical as therapy for cardiac symptoms. Concern has been voiced as well that there is a potential for long-term effects on the ecosystem as scavengers such as coyotes or buzzards consume the carcasses of poisoned hogs and warfarin finds its way into unintended links in the food chain. Others point to the method, which has been banned in Australia, as cruel because it can cause a painful, weeks-long death.
Female hogs are able to reproduce just months after birth and are fruitful multipliers during a typical life span. The Texas Department of Agriculture estimates the state's feral hog population exceeds two million.