Ala. Wildlife Officials Probing 'Monster Pig' Saga; How Did Enormous Swine Get In Preserve?

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) _ State wildlife officials said Wednesday they want to know how the huge hog dubbed ``Monster Pig'' got into a fenced hunting preserve where it was chased down and shot to

Wednesday, May 30th 2007, 5:51 pm

By: News On 6

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) _ State wildlife officials said Wednesday they want to know how the huge hog dubbed ``Monster Pig'' got into a fenced hunting preserve where it was chased down and shot to death by an 11-year-old boy.

The young hunter is not accused of doing anything illegal, but the head enforcement officer for Alabama's wildlife agency said agents are trying to determine if anyone broke a state law prohibiting the transportation and release of live feral swine.

``There are some questions about where the animal came from, how he got there, how long he'd been there,'' said Allan Andress, enforcement chief for the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division.

Andress said officials also will review whether the hunt complied with the state's ``fair chase'' law, which requires that prey at hunting plantations have a reasonable chance of escape.

Eddy Borden, the owner of the spread where the hunt occurred, declined comment on how the hog got into the 150-acre fenced-in area where it was killed last month by Jamison Stone of Pickensville.

Borden said he was getting tired of questions about the hog, which Jamison's father said weighed 1,051 pounds and measured 9 feet, 4 inches from the tip of its snout to the base of its tail. The kill drew international attention.

``I didn't ask for the publicity. I just want it to all go away,'' said Borden, whose Lost Creek Plantation is located in east Alabama.

Keith O'Neal, one of the guides who accompanied Jamison and father Mike Stone on the paid hunt, said he was unsure if the super swine was placed in the enclosure or grew up it.

Jamison was hunting with his father and the guides on May 3 when he killed the giant pig. He said he shot the huge animal eight times with a .50-caliber revolver and chased it for three hours through hilly woods before finishing it off with a point-blank shot.

Mike Stone said neither he nor his son did anything wrong.

``It's an 11-year-old boy who went hunting,'' said Mike Stone. ``He was enjoying all the attention at first, but it's all getting old.''

Andress said there is nothing illegal about a child hunting in Alabama.