The animals are often crossbreeds that combine the survival skills of wild Eurasian boars with the size and high fertility of domestic swine to create a "super pig" that's spreading out of control.

An exploding population of hard-to-eradicate “super pigs” in Canada 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, the wild pigs roaming Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba pose a new threat. They are often crossbreeds that combine the survival skills of wild Eurasian boars with the size and high fertility of domestic swine to create a “super pig” that’s spreading out of control.

Ryan Brook, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan and one of Canada’s leading authorities on the problem, calls feral swine, “the most invasive animal on the planet” and “an ecological train wreck.”

  • khannie@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    10 months ago

    Unfortunately they’ll still see population growth…

    That means 65% or more of a wild pig population could be killed every year and it will still increase, Brook said. Hunting just makes the problem worse, he said. The success rate for hunters is only about 2% to 3% and several states have banned hunting because it makes the pigs more wary and nocturnal — tougher to track down and eradicate.

    • Track_Shovel@slrpnk.netEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      They are clever animals. You have to play the long con if you want to deal with their populations. Ive seen things where they actually feed them and gradually pen them in and the liquidate the whole drove.