“Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver has a rare gift: he can make even educational segments on dry topics like civil forfeiture seem compelling due to his use of satire and often self-referential humor. On the June 21, 2026, episode, he dug deep into one of the deadliest dangers that Americans didn’t even know existed: feral hogs.
On the surface, it seems like a fairly innocuous topic. Feral hogs are sweeping through a majority of states, destroying crops and endangering people and animals. They are extremely smart, able to escape traps with ease, and it seems that there is nothing that they won’t devour – and that includes peanuts.
Although the hogs themselves do pose a threat, it does harken back to a larger political issue: gun control. And the subject of hogs and gun control actually links back to an unlikely source: Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and guitarist Jason Isbell from Alabama.
Inside The Origin Of The 30-50 Feral Hogs Meme
In August 2019, Isbell tweeted, “If you’re on here arguing the definition of ‘assault weapon’ today, you are part of the problem. You know what an assault weapon is, and you know you don’t need one.”
A user named William McNabb replied to the tweet later that same day, asking, “Legit question for rural Americans – How do I kill the 30-50 feral hogs that run into my yard within 3-5 mins while my small kids play?”
The tweet spawned many memes and jokes, but the following month, the Daily Inter Lake reported that large roving packs of feral hogs were approaching the U.S. Canada border through Montana. At the time, Dale Nolte of the USDA’s National Feral Swine Program said that if the hogs were to invade the U.S., it would “be a disaster.”
The tweet resurfaced again in February 2025, when someone posted an image of a large hog hoisted onto the back of a truck with the caption, “This is what happens when domestic hogs interbreed with wild hogs. They get larger each generation.”
It prompted the reply: “We as a society owe an apology to the 30-50 feral hogs guy.”
Are Feral Hogs Actually A Threat?
Alarmingly, yes, feral hogs are actually a threat to crops and people alike. Part of the problem? In the words of John Oliver, “They cannot stop f-cking.” According to the Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management, feral swine have the highest reproductive rate of any large mammal. Females can start breeding as early as six months old, gestation lasts only 115 days, and sows can produce two litters per year.
Each litter size can range from 4 to 12 piglets, with each wild hog living an estimated 4 to 8 years. With those female piglets reaching maturity in just six months, the number of feral hogs can grow exponentially in only a few years. Based on this reproduction rate, wildlife agencies estimate that between 70 and 75% of the wild hog population must be removed annually to prevent the population from increasing.
The Feral Hog Crisis In Texas
Texas is one of the hardest hit areas when it comes to invasive feral hogs. In April 2026, southbound traffic on I-45 near Dallas came to a screeching halt after several feral hogs were hit and killed, as per CBS News. That report came only three days after Mesquite residents demanded that the city do something about the feral hogs.
One resident shared videos with CBS News Texas that showed hogs running through the neighborhood at night. In one video, a pack of about six hogs can be seen running across his driveway.
“I’ve warned people in the neighborhood, ‘do not walk out here after dark because you might encounter the hogs, they become frightened, and they might attack.’ That’s the biggest concern, public safety,” said local resident Ted Faulkner.
How Did Feral Pigs Get To America?
For feral hogs to be an invasive species, they had to have come from elsewhere. As Oliver mentions in his report, the pigs were first introduced to the West Indies, known as the Caribbean, by Christopher Columbus in 1493. They were later transported to the continental U.S. by Hernando de Soto in 1539 through Florida. Although the pigs were once a low-maintenance food source, explorers left them behind as they traveled north, and they thus became feral.
Now, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) notes that wild pigs are one of the top 100 worst exotic invasive species in the world. In 2007, researchers estimated that Americans spent more than $1.5 billion in damages and control costs related to wild hogs. As of 2020, the estimated cost has risen to $2.1 billion.
In addition to their ecological and agricultural impacts, wild hogs can contaminate water sources and transmit disease to other animals. But their attacks can also be fatal. In 2019, CBS News Texas reported that a woman was found dead at the home of an elderly couple she was caring for after she was attacked by a group of wild hogs.
Things in Texas have gotten so extreme that, in 2017, state lawmakers approved a law that would allow hunters to shoot wild pigs and coyotes from hot air balloons.
Where Can I Learn More About Feral Hogs?
If you’re interested in learning more about feral hogs, you don’t need a subscription to HBO Max, although you will need one to watch the full episode, which includes an introduction about the World Cup and the beer shortage in Boston.
John Oliver’s 27-minute segment on the feral hog problem is available to stream for free on YouTube.