Feral Hog Massacre Video

Submission 4,187

Part of a series on Viral Videos. [View Related Entries]

About

Feral Hog Massacre Video, also known as World Record for Hogs Eliminated in Less Than 30 Seconds, is a viral video showing a group of farmers driving in a truck and shooting a large number of wild hogs using automatic weapons with night vision goggles and laser sights equipped. The video, uploaded in late August 2023, sparked viral debates and discourse online as some perceived it as excessively violent and over-the-top while others disagreed noting that feral pigs are often invasive and damage the environment or property.

Origin

The wild hog massacre video, titled "World Record for Hogs Eliminated in Less Than 30 Seconds," was first posted to YouTube on August 29th, 2023, by the channel Ultimate Night Vision, where it received over 1.9 million views and 29,000 likes in the course of one month (shown below).^[1]

According to Ultimate Night Vision, feral hogs are an invasive species and a persistent problem in Texas. Hunting them is legal at any time of day and "our goal is to eradicate as many hogs as we can in the most efficient way possible." Feral hogs reportedly cost the state's farmers over $500 million per year and cost Americans a reported $1.5 billion annually in damages and control costs.^[10] The preferred method of extermination for many is the use of firearms such as AR-15 rifles and other weapons. The practice has been controversial given the ongoing gun control debate in the United States.^[2]

Supporters of hog-shooting argue that it is more environmentally friendly than using traps or poison, which can harm other kinds of wildlife or farm animals. Accounts such as Ultimate Night Vision frequently post footage of hog hunts, as well as footage of farmers shooting coyotes and other animals.

Spread

Virality On X

On September 28th, 2023, the X account @Troviary, with the username Dystopian World, posted an excerpt of the Ultimate Night Vision video. The account, which frequently posts shock videos, watermarked and then repeatedly reposted and promoted the hog-shooting video.^[3] The video earned over 25,000 likes and 12,000 reposts in four days.

Right-leaning internet news aggregator and X account @CatchUpFeed took the video and reposted a version of it on October 1st, 2023, without Troviary's watermark.^[4] Internet personality Ian Miles Cheong then shared that version of the video later that day. Cheong received over 66,000 likes and almost 10,000 reposts over the course of 24 hours and sparked a lively debate over the treatment of animals.^[5]

Controversy

Some online found the methods used in the video excessive and grotesque as it resulted in a viral debate. For example, on October 1st, 2023, X user @jakeshieldsajj called the hunters "weak pathetic cowards(s)," earning over 12,000 likes in a day (seen below, left).^[6]

Others expressed support for the shooting of feral hogs, writing that those who thought the video was barbaric didn't understand the scope of the feral hog menace. For example, X user @Lead_Flinger, who earned over 1,400 likes in a day on October 1st, compared them to plague rats (seen below, right). ^[7]

The video spread across rightwing parts of Twitter and Cheong's network as it went viral, leading infamous white supremacist Richard Spencer to criticize him. X user @uncledoomer commented on this feud on October 1st, 2023, earning over 11,000 likes in a day (seen below, left).^[8] Others, like user @IsaiahLCarter on September 30th, connected the video to the famous 30-50 Feral Hogs meme, receiving over 150 likes in two days (seen below right).^[9]

30-50 Feral Hogs

30-50 Feral Hogs, refers to a hypothetical argument made on Twitter defending the ownership of assault rifles which posited that such weaponry would be necessary to combat the "30-50 feral hogs that run into my yard within 3-5 mins while my small kids play." After the tweet was posted in early August 2019, it was widely mocked on the platform, spawning parody lyrics, image macros and photoshops.