Destructive, invasive wild pigs in Alberta have breached national park boundary for 1st time

The number of pigs is astounding. We went to a state park in Fl a few years ago and much of the park had been seriously dug up by the pigs and they had no fear of humans. As a matter of fact my wife thought they were menacing.

approx. 7000 according to the government so maybe, over time, they can reduce the wild boar/pig population. It seems the wildlife experts don't have an accurate number as to how many of them are here so it's hard to know if the wolves have had any effect on the size of the herds.

open season on these damn things EVERYWHERE! The are a fcuking nuisance in east Tennessee, particularly in the mountains around the Cherokee National Forest and GSMNP. The bears get some of them up there but not enough. EVERYONE hates them. They're mean and dangerous and tear up everything in sight. Most farmers around the area will shoot them on sight, law or no law.

They are very destructive and I was quite shocked to read this article as I had no idea there were any in Canada never mind deliberately imported here in the 70s by farmers for diversity (bad decision, imo).

are apparently descended from pigs that escaped farms way back when---like 18th-early 19th century. Pigs, whatever else you may think of them, are very smart animals. These things reverted to the wild and basically developed the old characteristics. They don't even look like modern pigs. (Old time pigs didn't either.) As one of my home health patients once said when describing a boar hunt he'd been on as a younger man, "Them things is ugly and evil!"

from all the pictures I've seen they are very ugly and look dangerous as well.

They have been a concern in the northern Rockies this past decade or so because they will get here eventually if they are not here already.

I had no idea that farmers brought them there in the 90s. I agree with you on the bad idea thing. There's lots of info and video of the problems they create in places like Texas. I hope they can control that situation quickly.

If ever there were a legitimate use for gun humpers...

controversial depending on what is being hunted. It looks like hunting them is okay from what I read on the government site:

Can I hunt wild boar?

People who want to help remove pests
from property are allowed to do so, and
there is no licence, season, or limits for wild
boar at-large. Be aware that general laws
around firearms and trespassing apply and
must be followed. Contact your local police
or Fish and Wildlife Office for more
information.

Wild Boar At Large: An invasive pest in Alberta
To report wild boar
at-large or for more
information, please call
toll-free in Alberta.
310-FARM (3276)
agriculture.alberta.ca/


What should I do
if I have wild boar
on my land?

Tracks in the snow or mud, or trails of
groups (“sounders”) of boar
Signs of boar digging or rolling around
(rooting and wallowing)
Signs of boar eating your livestock feed
Boar droppings
Non-professional hunting of wild boar
at-large can actually make it harder for
organized control efforts. Boar are very
smart! Hunting can make them learn
quickly to avoid humans, and this can
make the problems worse.

https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/3939167d-8266-4dfe-88a6-195527f6de6c/resource/3acce27c-8ff4-4bac-8182-894a0cc3b311/download/wildboar-fact-sheet-print.pdf

They made it a business with guided hunts. There are also people who armor up big fighting dogs and send them out to hunt them as well. It's something I would distance myself from if it were going on around me.

I had hoped our government would take responsibility for removing them on public land instead of allowing what seems to be a free-for-all. I certainly support private property owners being allowed to shoot them but not using fighting dogs, that seems unnecessarily cruel for both animals, imo.

But the hogs/pigs are a very big problem that should be more widely known. When people disappear in the woods where these animals are might have fallen prey to them.

in both Texas and Arkansas. Also in Puerto Rico. The ones in Puerto Rico can't even be eaten when they're killed because they have some kind of disease (a parasite, not trichinosis, I think). I believe the Texas ones can become BBQ.

There is one thing that can get rid of them completely but, it’s use is controversial- Coumadin.