FOX NEWS

 PHOTO: Jamison Stone, 11, poses with a wild pig he killed near Delta, Ala.

When a 1,000-pound wild hog was shot last year in Alabama, 11-year-old hunter Jamison Stone couldn’t have been happier. But his prize photos of the 9-foot-long boar have continued to cause a stink, one the Stone family can’t seem to shake.

The backlash has only grown worse, with one group calling for the hunters' prosecution.

"It is unbelievable what my family has been through over the past year," Mike Stone, Jamison’s father, told the Birmingham News. "It has taken 10 years off my life."

An online petition has garnered more than 800 signatures from around the world demanding prosecution for what activists are calling animal cruelty, according to the newspaper.

Rhonda Roland Shearer, a New York City organizer who investigated the incident, said the pig suffered a "cruel and painful death," the result of 16 shots from a low-velocity weapon, nine of which hit the hog.

Shearer said that no charges are being pressed against the hunters, as the Alabama statute of limitations on animal cruelty has already elapsed.

Yet the Stone family is feeling the wrath of some critics.

"You should see some of the emails and hear some of the calls we have received," Jamison’s father said. "They are explicit. They tell how they are going to kill my son, like cutting his head off.

"It has had us scared to death ... All I did was to take my son on a legal hunting trip."

The prize pig, shot by Jamison Stone on an Alabama hunting preserve in May 2007, reportedly weighed 1,051 pounds and measured 9 feet, 4 inches from the tip of its snout to the base of its tail.

If the claims are accurate, Jamison's trophy boar would be bigger than the original “Hogzilla,” the legendary 800-pound, 8-foot-long wild hog killed in south Georgia in 2004.

Click here for more on this story from FOXNews.com.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story, based on a report from the Birmingham News, incorrectly characterized Rhonda Roland Rhodes' involvement in the affair and some facts involved in the hunt. A correction may be found here in the Birmingham News.

Comments (7)

ipscop: ... I guess I can see the activist's point. If you're going to hunt the animal, kill it or take a picture but a three hour pursuit with a 50 cal is a bit much. 1 July 31, 2008 88pdx: ... Good gracious! If that boar was truffle-hunting in my backyard, I would pay someone to kill it!! And have a barbecue. Don't get me wrong: I love animals. Especially when they're cooked just right. 16 shots is stupid and he had a stupid choice of a weapon, but maybe he's used to eating lots of lead in his meat... Slow Children... 2 August 02, 2008 tseciwa: ... 16 shots may seem excessive but consider the fact that for the average sized boar a .50 caliber is a sufficient round. I dont think the kid was expecting a boar that large and once the first shot is fired, the rules of "fair chase" apply and he had to finish it off. Who in their right mind wants a wounded 1000 lb boar running loose? 3 August 04, 2008 FLdeputy34: ... The kid is posing in the background while the hog is positioned in the foreground. This gives the impression the hog is much bigger than actual size. This is actually a very common intentional illusion when it comes to photos of game kills. Everyone always wants their kill to look gigantic and montrous. 4 August 09, 2008 88pdx: FLDeputy34 I thought that's they way you were supposed to pose with fish. Fish forward! 5 August 12, 2008 jarankin: ... What was he to have done? let the boar walk away? he was on a HUNTING trip for God's sake. It's legal to take them in Georgia with a .22 cal rifle....i wouldn't, but it's legal. 6 August 12, 2008 arthuj: ... I'd like to know what .50 cal they are talking about?? If it's a S&W 500 in .50, I challenge you to check the ballistics before you say that wasn't enough gun. Just as we teach our officers on the range, shot placement is the key in hunting too. You could have shot that pig in the gut with a .50 BMG and it most likely would have kept going. Once an animal is wounded, though, the hunter has the obligation to as quickly as possible give the coup de grace. The guide and father should have stepped in with the high power rifles at that point or given the kid one to do a good follow up shot. I think there are unexplained motives here. Pistol record for biggest pig??? 7 August 13, 2008

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