Canada’s intractable “super pig” population is threatening to spill south of the border, and northern states like Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana are taking steps to stop the invasion.
In Canada, feral pigs roaming Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba pose a new threat.
They are often hybrids that combine the survival skills of Eurasian wild boars with the size and high fertility of domestic pigs to create “super pigs” that spread out of control.
Ryan Brook, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan and one of Canada’s leading authorities on the problem, called feral pigs “the most invasive animal on the planet” and an “ecological train wreck.”
Pigs are not native to North America.
Although they have roamed parts of the continent for centuries, Canada’s problems began only in the 1980s when it encouraged farmers to raise wild hogs, Brook said.
Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana and other northern states are making preparations to stop the threatened invasion from Canada. AP
The market collapsed after peaking in 2001 and some frustrated farmers simply cut down their fences, freeing the animals.
It turns out that the pigs are very good at surviving the Canadian winter. Intelligent, adaptable and furry, they eat anything, including plants and wildlife.
They tear up the soil as they search for bugs and plants. They can spread devastating diseases to pig farms such as African swine fever. And they multiply quickly. A sow can have six piglets in one litter and rear two litters in a year.
The pigs are often hybrids that combine the survival skills of the Eurasian wild boar with the size and high fertility of the domestic pig to create a “super pig.” AP
That means 65% or more of the feral hog population could be killed each year and it’s still going up, Brook said.
Hunting only exacerbates the problem, he said.
The success rate for hunters is only about 2% to 3% and some states have banned hunting because it makes pigs more wary and active at night — harder to detect and eliminate.
Canada’s problem with wild boar dates back to the 1980s when it encouraged farmers to raise wild boar. AP
Feral hogs already cause about $2.5 billion in damage to US crops each year, mostly in southern states like Texas. And they can be aggressive towards humans.
A woman in Texas was killed by a wild boar in 2019.
Feral hog eradication is no longer possible in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Brook said.
Feral pigs can spread diseases to pig farms such as African swine fever, because the animals reproduce quickly.AP
But the situation is not in vain everywhere and some US states have abolished it.
The key, he said, is to have a detection system that finds them early and fast, and then reacts quickly.
Brook and his colleagues have documented 62,000 wild boar sightings in Canada.
Feral hogs cause about $2.5 billion in damage to US crops each year, mostly in southern states like Texas. AP
Their aerial reconnaissance has seen them on both sides of the Canada-North Dakota border.
They have also recorded sightings in Manitoba within 28 miles of Minnesota.
“No one should be surprised when pigs start walking across that border if they haven’t already,” Brook said. “The question is: What is going to be done about it?”
Brook said Montana is the most serious about keeping feral pigs out. It prohibits raising and transporting wild boars within the country.
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“The only way forward is you have to be really aggressive and you have to use all the tools in the toolbox,” Brook said.
That could include land traps with names like “BoarBuster” or net guns fired from helicopters. Some states and territories accept crowdsourced “Squeal on Pigs” tracking programs.
Scientists have also studied poisons such as sodium nitrite, but they risk harming other species.
Minnesota is among the states trying to prevent pigs from taking over.
The state Department of Natural Resources is expected to release a report in February identifying gaps in its management plan and recommending new preventative measures.
Meanwhile, the US Department of Agriculture is using aircraft and drones to increase surveillance along the northern border.
Minnesota was declared an extirpated state after the USDA Wildlife Service shot and killed a herd of hogs in 2016 that wandered off a farm and became feral in the far northwest corner of the state — but not before they began breeding and destroying wildlife preserves.
Gary Nohrenberg, director of the Minnesota Wildlife Service, said as far as he knows, no feral hogs have actually made their way into his state — yet.
Feral hogs have been reported in at least 35 states, according to the USDA. The agency estimates the pig population in the state to be around 6 million.
Since launching the National Feral Swine Management Program in 2014, USDA has provided funding to 33 states, said Mike Marlow, assistant program director.
He said their goal is to eradicate feral hogs where populations are low or emerging, and to limit damage where they already exist such as Texas and southeastern states.
The program has been successful in several states with small populations such as Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Washington, he said.
The animal was seen occasionally and quickly killed in North Dakota.
“I think we’re taking big steps toward success,” Marlow said. “But eradication is not in the near future.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
