Wild Pig Eradication Efforts Showing Success

(Farmscape) Saskatchewan's Squeal on Pigs Campaign has heightened public awareness of the problems posed by feral pigs roaming loose in the landscape and drawn considerable media attention.

Those efforts to locate and eradicate wild boar have kept the problem from spreading to new areas of the province according to Sask Pork General Manager Marg Ferguson.

He says that while some sources have suggested the problem is widespread across the province, it appears the issue is mostly isolated to one or two locations from where pigs are already being removed.

“This is a problem that is man-made.

“Wild boar were kept on farms here beginning in the 80s and 90s and eventually they became on the landscape because they either escaped or were released from the farm,” Ferguson said about the history of the wild boars.

“The issue is, they're a smart animal, they're elusive and they like to live in remote areas with few humans around.

“The release or escape of these animals several decades ago introduced them into our wildlife in Saskatchewan. We do know that we get scattered reports of these animals every year through the province's reporting hotline,” he added.

One of the challenges is locating them across Saskatchewan, but there have been ways to pinpoint where they’ve been.

“We know that there are one or two spots in the province where there are sounders living and that's where removal efforts are focused. We have a very difficult time locating wild boar and I think it's because they are so elusive and reclusive. They tend to live in places where humans are not,” Ferguson said.

While wild boar can cause havoc on the environment, there is some hope the issue can be contained.

“We do think that the problem is likely a bit smaller than some reports have made it out to be.

“There's basically one or two targeted areas where we know them to live. Outside of that we really don't hear much about wild boar.”

 Ferguson encourages anyone who suspects they have seen wild boar or evidence of them to call the Pig Spot hotline at 1-833-pig-spot or click the appropriate links on the Sask Pork website.