Some months ago we reported on the growing fear that super pigs from Canada were beginning to cross the border into the United States. That advent would only increase the problems caused by wild pigs in much of the United States,
Super pigs from Canada are given that name because they are the escaped products of cross- breeding. They have heightened abilities and are harder to track and kill.
According to The Conversation the problem is getting worse.
The website quoted Marcus Lashley an associate professor of wildlife ecology at the University of Florida.
“The wild pigs in Canada are unique because they were originally crossbred by humans to be larger and more cold-hardy than their feral cousins to the south. This suite of traits has earned them the name “super pigs” for good reason. Adults can reach weights exceeding 500 pounds, which is twice the size of the largest wild pigs sampled across many U.S. sites in a 2022 study.” Links in original.
Wild pigs are very destructive and they are currently present in as many as 35 of the United States. They will eat almost anything. Since they eat about 90 percent plant material their damage to crops, forests, parks and gardens is extreme. But Lashley said there is a worse aspect:
“However, they likely do their most severe damage through predation. Wild pigs kill and eat rodents, deer, birds, snakes, frogs, lizards and salamanders. This probably best explains why colleagues and I found in one study that forest patches with wild pigs had 26% fewer mammal and bird species than similar forest patches without pigs.
This decrease in diversity was similar to that found with other invasive predators. And our findings are consistent with a global analysis showing that invasive mammalian predators that have no natural predators themselves – especially generalist foragers like wild pigs – cause by far the most extinctions.” (links in original.)
Feral pigs are a disaster from Texas to Italy and the problem is only growing worse. Pigs are smart omnivores, very fertile and highly destructive. Pigs can even carry and spread disease. At least nine diseases can be transmitted to humans, including hepatitis and E.coli poisoning, Italy is facing a crisis after pigs tested positive for disease. African Swine Fever is one of the biggest threats, According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The FDA says:
“African Swine Fever (ASF) is a highly contagious and deadly swine disease that can affect both farm-raised and feral (wild) pigs. ASF doesn’t infect people, but it is readily passed from one pig to another by direct contact with bodily fluids from an infected pig. The practice of feeding uncooked food waste (that has not been appropriately heat treated) to pigs can also result in transmission of the virus if the food waste being fed to pigs contains contaminated pork products.” Link in original.
African swine fever is one of many diseases’ pigs can carry. It has not arrived in the United States so far. If it spreads from feral to domesticated swine it has the potential to cause disaster to the pork industry.
Texas is one state already suffering from pig damage.