Wild pigs invade Canadian provinces—an emerging crisis for agriculture and the environment

MAY 13, 2019

by University of Saskatchewan

Wild pigs—a mix of wild boar and domestic swine—are spreading rapidly across Canada, threatening native species such as nesting birds, deer, agricultural crops, and farm livestock, research by the University of Saskatchewan (USask) shows.

The first-ever published survey of the wild pig distribution in Canada has found a rapid expansion in the invasive species' range, which is increasing by nine per cent a year.

"Wild pigs are ecological train wrecks. They are prolific breeders making them an extremely successful invasive species," said Ruth Aschim, a Ph.D. student who led the research published today in Nature Scientific Reports. "Wild pigs can cause soil erosion, degrade water quality, destroy crops, and prey on small mammals, amphibians and birds."

Wild boar were brought from Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s to diversify Canadian livestock production. Others were imported as 'penned game' for shooting.

The hybrid wild pigs have rapidly multiplied and spread, making them the most prolific invasive mammal in Canada.

By 2017, they had spread exponentially across Canada, from British Columbia to Ontario and Quebec, with the majority in the south-central half of Saskatchewan. Their territory has increased by 88,000 square kilometres per year, on average, over the last decade.

Continued

USDA report: Wild Pigs are taking over the US

February 6, 2017

by John Hopton 

Wild pigs were first introduced to the southern United States in the 1500s to provide early settlers and explorers with something to eat, and the Eurasian or Russian wild boar was brought over in the 1900s for sport hunting. Fast forward to 2017, and millions of feral pigs are wreaking havoc in dozens of states.

Escaped domestic pigs, descendants of wild boar and hybrids of both make up the more than 5 million wild swine that are costing an estimated $1.5 billion a year. The sum comes from the damage they cause as well as the need to control them.

Gail Keirn, a public affairs specialist at the USDA-APHIS-WS National Wildlife Research Center, said:

“Feral swine cause major damage to property, agriculture (crops and livestock), native species and ecosystems, and cultural and historic resources. This invasive species also threatens the health of people, wildlife, pets, and other domestic animals. As feral swine populations continue to expand across the country, these damages, costs, and risks will only keep rising.”

Wild pigs breed rapidly and seem able to adapt to any climate. They eat just about anything while lacking natural predators.

At home in most counties within fifty years

As well as moving northward quickly since 2004, feral pigs spread throughout regions of Canada in the 1980s and now threaten to expand into the northern US from both above and below.

Experts say the northward expansion in recent years is likely due to climate change causing milder northern winters, which are easier to survive than they used to be.

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Wild pigs menace suburban Atlanta

By David Beasley

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Wild pigs have descended on a suburban Atlanta neighborhood where they are scaring children, making a general nuisance of themselves, and acting as they if they own the place.

One large specimen was sighted on Monday morning rummaging through garbage it had strewn across Taneisha Danner's front yard in Lithonia, an area about 19 miles east of downtown Atlanta.

It then trotted into the backyard, taking a nap before returning with three other pigs from a patch of nearby woods, Danner told Reuters on Tuesday.

"This is their home," Danner joked. "We're just visiting."

She said the animals were no laughing matter for neighborhood children, however, noting that some were now afraid to leave the safety of their homes.

"My children are even afraid to be downstairs, worried that he (the pig) could come through the door," Danner said.

Descendents of wild boar, the feral pigs are a particular pest in rural Georgia and notorious for damaging farmer's crops, said Charlie Killmaster, a deer and feral hog biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

There are so many hogs that hunting season has been flung wide open for wild pigs on private land, he said, adding that it was still fairly rare for them to show up in suburban neighborhoods.

Read on

French woman rescued by helicopter from wild pigs

A French woman had to be rescued by helicopter after she got stuck in a tree where she took refuge from a herd of wild pigs she encountered while strolling in a valley.


The 30-year-old was walking near the southwestern town of Bagneres-de-Luchon on Monday when she took fright after seeing the boars and climbed up a nearby tree.


When she later tried to climb down she fell six feet and got stuck in branches from where she called rescue services with her GPS-equipped mobile phone and was able to give them her exact location, police said.

When rescue workers arrived they decided they would need a helicopter to extricate her safely form the tree and summoned one from a nearby base.

"She was shivering and suffering slightly from hypothermia" but had no broken bones or other injuries, said a rescue worker.