After Capture

Where Captured Feral Hogs Go

Holding, transport, processing, disposal, and documentation all sit downstream of a capture.

Record reviewed: Sep 4, 2026

Somewhere that has to accept them. Depending on the situation, captured animals move to an approved holding facility, onward to a processing establishment, or to documented disposal. Each step depends on transport, on acceptance conditions at the receiving end, and on records that follow the animals.

What the record shows

Public program materials and federal directories describe the downstream system.

Texas Animal Health CommissionApproved holding facilities are regulated and time limited

TAHC program materials describe approved feral swine holding facilities as regulated and inspected, with authorizations that are time limited and subject to reauthorization. Approval is therefore a status with a date attached, not a permanent attribute.

Texas Animal Health CommissionThe public PDF is a contact list, not a registry

The TAHC public list of approved feral swine holding facilities, updated March 31, 2026, contains facilities that agreed to publish their contact information. It must not be represented as the complete registry, and absence from it does not prove that no other approved facility exists. It also does not prove that a listed facility is currently accepting animals or has capacity today.

USDA FSISThe processing directory is dynamic

The FSIS inspection directory is updated regularly and includes a feral swine category filter. It reflects establishment status at the time of the download, so a historical copy is not evidence of current acceptance or capacity.

Peer reviewed, 2017 to 2019Historical processing volume, anonymized

An analysis of FSIS data for 2017 through 2019 identified 17 establishments across seven states, and reported that six Texas establishments processed 239,338 feral swine. The study anonymized individual establishments. It is a historical picture, not a current plant capacity list.

Contract practiceReceipts and documented disposal

The Dallas scope required quantity or weight receipts attached to monthly invoices, date stamped photographs, and documented disposal where applicable. That is one jurisdiction's documentation standard, and it shows that disposition is treated as an auditable step rather than an assumption.

Why it matters

Downstream capacity is a real constraint on field work. If nothing nearby will accept animals on a given day, the practical options change, transport distances grow, and cost and timing move with them.

It also explains why a question like where do the hogs go has no single answer. It depends on the animals, the location, the receiving facility's status, and the terms of the specific engagement.

Limits and Scope of This Evidence

Facility status, acceptance, and capacity change over time and are not published as a live feed.
The 2017 to 2019 analysis is historical and anonymized, so it cannot be mapped to named plants or to present day volume.
Documentation practice described here is drawn from one municipal solicitation.

What This Page Does Not Claim

That the TAHC public PDF is a complete list of approved facilities.
That any listed facility is currently accepting animals, has capacity, or is recommended.
That processing is available for any particular job, animal, or location.
That TAHC, USDA, FSIS, or any facility endorses this page or Texas Hog Dispatch.

Sources

Record reviewed September 4, 2026. Documents linked below were public at that date. Contract requirements belong to the buying jurisdiction named, not to operators generally.

Texas Animal Health Commission, Approved Feral Swine Holding Facilities (PDF, updated March 31, 2026)
www.tahc.texas.gov/animal_health/swine/pdf/FeralSwineFacilities.pdf
USDA FSIS Meat, Poultry and Egg Product Inspection Directory
www.fsis.usda.gov/inspection/establishments/meat-poultry-and-egg-product-inspection-directory
Peer-reviewed analysis of FSIS feral swine processing, 2017 to 2019
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8446507/
City of Dallas RFCSP BTZ25-00028917 scope of work
govtribe.com/file/government-file/5-01-feral-hog-control-and-abatement-services-scope-of-work-dot-pdf

USDA FSIS Meat, Poultry and Egg Product Inspection Directory: Dynamic directory, updated regularly, with a feral swine category filter.
City of Dallas RFCSP BTZ25-00028917 scope of work: Third-party mirror of the City of Dallas solicitation document, not a City-hosted copy.

Operator Perspective or Correction

If a document here is out of date, mischaracterized, or missing context, send the correction with its source to data@texashogdispatch.com. Field context from working operators is welcome. Nothing sent is published as an endorsement, and we do not publish proprietary methods, customer identities, property locations, or private price sheets.

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