Hello I'm Greg Ibach part of my role is to oversee the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service or APHIS's Wildlife Services is spearheading the
National Feral Swine Damage Management Program. Over 6 million feral swine can
now be found in 32 States and the annual damage caused by feral swine in the
United States is estimated at over 1.5 billion dollars so what are we doing
about it? We're working closely with our partners
at the state and local levels to address the impacts of expanding feral swine
populations and increasing outreach to educate the public about the part you
can play and that's where this video fits in. Please take a few moments to
watch and learn about this important effort and for helping USDA APHIS as we
work to tackle the problems caused by feral swine. I think that that's why
you've seen a lot of attention to feral swine lately is because they can damage
everything and they have the potential to really do epic harm. We haven't seen
an invasive species like this. This will be the one that creates the most damage
that we'll see. Starting this spring we have just been inundated with the
hog problem. I thought I could handle this problem myself. I thought I could
get these feral hogs under control but over the last year or so it became obvious
that was just not possible I needed help.
And the problem is of course they
produce some of them two to three litters per year and if you have a
survival rate it's hard to keep up.Feral hogs are the most important significant
resource concern that we have in Missouri.
Across America we value our majestic lands, natural resources and abundant wildlife
and our agricultural way of life.
A surprising invasive species puts
these values at a costly risk.
It is invasive feral swine.
This invasive species costs the United States over 1.5 billion dollars each year in damages and
control costs.
Feral swine cause major damage to farmers and ranchers, property, crops and livestock,
harming ecosystems and native wildlife,
damaging cultural
and historic sites across the country.
If feral swine populations continue to
expand, these damages and costs and risks to human health and safety will keep rising.
That's nothing compared to what feral swine can do so my aha moment was
really oh my god they can damage everything and and we're just at the tip
of the iceberg here so that really blew me away from an economists
standpoint. These numbers are going to be big and we're gonna, I'm gonna spend my
career getting them so.
We had approximately 70 acres to replant and I
came in and replanted that and come back two days later and approximately 20
acres of the 70, the feral hogs had moved in and literally ate all the seed
out of the ground. We will have a solid set of numbers on what the monetary
damage is. I am guessing to someplace in the neighborhood of 20 to 30 thousand
dollars.
Feral swine damaged crops and destroy land with their natural feeding
habits, rooting and wallowing behaviors. Sometimes there are hundreds of them here.
We've always had routing take place and I think the amount of moisture
in the soil has something to do with how deep they go.
The dryer it is the deeper they need to go.
I can actually take you out in the field and show you 16 to 18 inch deep holes.
They can spread diseases to livestock, degrade pasture grasses,
eat and contaminate livestock feed.
We've had a few issues with the feral hog
running through some of our Cattle through fences.
They'll root
up you know our crop ground and minimize our in our grazing acres in the winter.
It's just it's just competition and we're not making any money off the feral swine.
They do a considerable amount of damage to farm property, costing farmers and
ranchers millions of dollars a year.
Feral swine damage ecosystems and water quality,
harming our native plants, competing with our native wildlife, and
destroying the nests of ground nesting birds like quail.
We did a lot of habitat improvement around here
to bring back quail and I had the quail coming back
everything was looking good and the pigs came in and now the quail are extinct again.
They are even hurting our valued threatened and endangered species such
as the dunes sagebrush lizard. The dune sagebrush lizard has been petitioned
for listing again. You know they hibernate in the sand for the winter
months, so those pigs could have been rooting them out. So It could have been a
big impact to them if the feral swine would have gotten established out here.
The lesser prairie chickens a ground nesting birds so those eggs are on the ground.
A lot of work has gone on for these two species, so to have something like feral
pig come in here and damage them would be a bad deal so we really appreciate
Wildlife Services and getting on it quick and and they did an outstanding job out here.
These feral hogs destroy landscaping, damage fences and other structures, and
otherwise reduce the aesthetic value of private properties, public parks, and the
recreational areas that mean so much to our communities.
Feral swine have even
caused damage to irreplaceable historical resources and cemeteries.
Feral swine can carry at least 30 diseases and nearly 40 types of parasites.
They can also transmit food borne illnesses such as Ecoli and trichinosis.
Feral swine have been aggressive in encounters with people and
have threatened household pets.
When in roadways or at airports feral swine can
cause collisions posing direct risks to your family and their safety.
Wildlife Service's, part of the US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, is on the front lines to manage this invasive animal.
Through a coordinated national effort we are working closely with partners at the
state and local levels to address the extensive damage caused by feral swine.
Folks are now seeing firsthand the devastation that feral hogs can cause.
They're also seeing the very positive impact that when agencies and partners
come together we really can make a difference. I think when state and federal
agencies really began to have the conversation of that we're seeing increased
numbers of feral hogs. We're hearing increased complaints from private
landowners. When we began to see damage on our own public lands that we have
responsibility to manage, agencies got together and Wildlife Service's has been a
partner in that since from the very beginning. You really are standing
shoulder to shoulder on this effort to eradicate feral hogs.
Cooperation has been great for this program with all of these county, state, and federal agencies and
having close contacts with them on a daily basis if not weekly. So we've got
very strong support from the agencies as well as the co-operators and the public
individuals as well.
Wildlife Services recognizes that every region faces
different challenges when managing feral swine and uses every tool available to
take a localized approach to management.
Wildlife Services and its partners take
a science-based approach to management. The national program is continually
researching new tools for feral swine management, utilizing the latest
technology.
The research is based out of the
National Wildlife Research Center in Colorado.
I really do like having the
ability to go out when somebody has a problem or has a need and I have the
ability to help them answer that problem. It's it's just the greatest feeling in
the world to know that you contributed to a very successful mission or to
somebody being relieved of a problem that was existing because of feral swine.
Current research includes feral swine genetic archive.
Here at NWRC see we've
pulled together various expertise from modeling to economics to genetics
basically use the best science that we could assemble to inform management
strategies as they take this ambitious initiative to remove pigs.
Environmental DNA.
We've been working with wildlife service's Wildlife Service's knows that
there's feral swine within this area and so we've been assisting them with E-DNA sampling
So we collect water samples from streams such as this one. They have
an address they give us and we send them in and based on that they can tell if a
feral swine have been present in the area.
So E-DNA is environmental DNA so
we're literally working with water samples that are coming in from the
field. It's kind of a fun process because we basically get to take
something that everyone is familiar with a nice murky bottle of water and turn it
into an extracted piece of DNA that we then look for feral swine in our case
DNA in there.
And the development of a feral swine toxicant.
The toxicant that
that Wildlife Services is putting a lot of research into right now is sodium nitrite
It's very comparable to carbon monoxide poisoning.
The pigs will ingest
a toxic dose. they start to feel faint they'll go lay down
they'll be rendered unconscious and they just kind of fuzz off
and by two and a half three hours they pass away.
So that's a reason that we
like the potential for this active ingredient is because it's a humane death.
Wherever feral swine are, they become a problem,
threatening livestock, agriculture, property, forests, and other natural areas
native wildlife, and public health and safety.
There are a number of steps you
can take to help mitigate the feral swine problem in your area.
Don't relocate feral swine to new areas or transport them to other states.
This introduces the problem to new areas.
Spread the word to your neighbors about
the damage feral swine can cause.
Discourage others from transporting and
introducing feral swine to new areas. We are all in this together.
Report feral swine damage.
Help wildlife managers address feral swine damage by
reporting sightings, signs, or damage in your area.
Your state Wildlife Services's program
and its partners are happy to help with your feral swine problem.
Don't hesitate to call. Call Wildlife Services at 1-866-4USDA WS.
or go to WWW. APHIS.USDA dot-gov slash Wildlife dash Damage slash stop feral swine.
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