A new male contraceptive is now being used in the South, and there are high hopes this approach could make a dent in the population. [Source: National Hog Farmer 23 August 2021]
Feral pigs are big – some weighing over 400 lbs – but the potential problem they pose for the US pork industry, ranchers and crop farmers is much bigger.
Feral pigs are now found across most US states and several Canadian provinces. In the US, they could number as many as 9 million at this point, and in Texas alone, at least 2.6 million.
According to the Texas Invasive Species Institute, it was likely Spanish explorers who introduced European pigs to North America over three centuries ago. Then, in the 1900s, European wild boars were brought to Canada and the US for meat production and sport hunting. Some perhaps escaped, some were set free, but one thing is for certain – feral pigs have never looked back.
These hogs are hard to stop, but a new approach targeting males could make a difference for the future.
These animals are a menace in many ways. They cause over a billion dollars of crop damage each year, decimate wildlife habitat, attack young and pregnant livestock, and have killed at least one person. They’re also potential carriers for at least 30 diseases of humans, livestock, and wildlife.
For commercial pork operations, they are a disease threat for swine brucellosis, pseudorabies, classic swine fever and African swine fever (not currently present in North America but has been spread around Europe in recent years by wild boars).
Feral hogs don’t just stick to ranch land and forest, but also make their way into urban areas in Texas and many other states. In April this year, families in Dallas complained about wild pig presence in cemeteries. In soft soil, these animals can root for food three feet down.
Texas Parks and Wildlife estimates that annual population control efforts would need to continuously achieve 66-70% population reduction just to hold the wild pig population at its current level. With current control methods, however, yearly population reduction only reaches about 29%.
Read the rest of the story in National Hog Farmer.