The LandTrust for Central North Carolina is hosting the Yadkin River Big Pig Contest on March 23 and 24.

The hunting competition is designed to help with the removal of invasive feral hogs.

Hunters from across the LandTrust region will harvest feral hogs by any legal method and compete for the Big Pig top prize of $500.

Hunters must register online for $35 or at the LandTrust office. All registrations must be received by 5 p.m. March 22. For more information, visit https://landtrustcnc.org/yadkin-river-big-pig-contest

The weigh-in location will be Stuffy’s Taxidermy and Game Processing, 806 E. Main St., Locust.

“We have recently renovated our facility in order to process feral hogs” said Danny Dulin, owner of Stuffy’s.

Big Pig participants will have the chance to donate their harvested game to be processed for use by local food banks.

Feral swine can significantly affect plant communities and wildlife habitat because they root through the ground’s surface in search of food. The non-native animals destroy agricultural crops and pose a substantial disease risk for both domestic swine and wildlife.

Because of these factors, feral swine are considered to be an invasive species in North Carolina. LandTrust is committed to working to remove feral hogs from LandTrust properties through hunting and trapping.

Big Pig contestants will harvest feral pigs on property on which they have written permission from the landowners to hunt. They will bring them to the weigh- in location by 8 p.m. March 24. No late entries will be accepted.

Awards will be announced just after 8 p.m. Participants do not have to be present to win.

Anyone hunting feral swine must have a valid hunting license. Hunters will not be able to hunt for hogs on gamelands because of state law.

LandTrust also has a Sportsman Access Program in which sportsman members of the organization are entered into a draw system to hunt LandTrust properties. LandTrust owns 3000 acres in Davie, Rowan and Montgomery counties that are enrolled in the program.

For more about that program, visit https://landtrustcnc.org/sportsman-membership/.

To learn more about LandTrust, contact Travis Morehead at 704-647-0302 or travis@landtrustcnc.org.

The LandTrust for Central North Carolina works with private landowners and public agencies to conserve natural, scenic, agricultural, and historic places in a 10-county region of the central Piedmont. More information about LandTrust is availale at 704-647-0302, cody@landtrustcnc.org or www.landtrustcnc.org.