A Sport Utility Vehicle for Disease: Wild Pigs Wreak Havoc in Louisiana
For years, Louisiana has had small populations of wild pigs. In fact, wild pigs lived in two particular basins for hundreds of years, but never spread. As sport hunting grew in popularity, people began moving these wild pigs to other areas. The resulting explosion of wild pigs on Louisiana’s landscape has been devastating.
“It was told to me many years ago, wild pigs are a sport utility vehicle for disease and parasites. They move them across the landscape. Really no good comes with them once they move into an area,” Jim LaCour, DVM, Louisiana state wildlife veterinarian, said in the latest episode of “Feral Swine in America,” which investigates the damage feral swine inflict.
Marshes are the frontline defense for all the storms and hurricanes the state receives. If the hogs are rooting in the marshes when the water comes in from the hurricanes, it causes erosion on an even faster level.
"Basically, a pig has a 3-inch environmental vacuum on the front of his face. Anything in front of it is going down. A lot of that damage goes unseen by the public eye because it may be in the middle of the woods somewhere, but that does have a value,” explains William Futch with USDA Wildlife Services.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries did a survey several years ago that showed 600 nests were destroyed by wild hogs. Each nest probably averages around 30 eggs or more and each egg is worth about $20.
“It's a big economic impact when they're destroying all of our nests,” says Walter Cotton of USDA Wildlife Services.
In addition to the damage done to the diverse landscape and crops in Louisiana, feral swine pose many concerns to livestock producers and wildlife enthusiasts because of their ability to spread disease.
“We surveil for these diseases to help protect our pork production and trade as well as protect our wildlife population,” says Greg Franckowiak, USDA research wildlife biologist. “After the removal of swine, we collect biological samples to perform disease surveillance.”
Samples are tested for foreign animal diseases such as classical swine fever and African swine fever.
“We ensure to ourselves, the USDA, as well as our trading partners, that these animals do not have these diseases, so we can continue to trade,” Franckowiak adds. “One of the other aspects that we use disease surveillance for is ensuring that some diseases that have been eliminated from commercial swine populations don't get reintroduced by feral swine.”
Feral Swine in America is a video series that shows the stories of farmers, ranchers and others impacted by invasive feral swine.
More from Farm Journal's PORK:
Is Missouri's Feral Hog Population on the Decline?
Feral Swine Eradication Program Should Be Permanent, Senators Urge
Destructive, Formidable, Invasive: How is the U.S. Managing the Feral Hog Population?
