Feral hog hunts open to children

ST. PETERSBURG, FL (AP) -- The state is enlisting children in its effort to control Florida's overpopulation of feral hogs.
  
Twenty children will grab gear and rifles for two hog-hunting expeditions on a state reserve in Manatee County this month. They'll hunt from "blinds," which are boxes or huts covered in camouflage.
 
The Southwest Florida Water Management District touts the hunt as a way to get children outside more. Parents get to tag along.
  
Feral hogs are found in each of Florida's 67 counties. District spokeswoman Robyn Felix says the hogs "root up the land and ruin habitat for native animals."
  
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission began hosting youth hunts three years ago. The agency teaches children to hunt hogs, deer, turkey and water fowl.