B.C.’s extensive wildfires in 2023 may have led to hogs escaping into the wild and turning feral, says an organization that tracks invasive species.
“Domestic pigs can become feral,” said Robyn Hooper, executive director of the Columbia Shuswap Invasive Species Society. “They can do so just by escaping into the wild and they can start to change, but they can also mate with wild pigs,” she told The Epoch Times.
“At this point, it’s just been anecdotal,” said Ms. Hooper. “We’re trying to get some more firm information. ... There’s the potential that any escaped pigs can establish wild populations.”
The group is asking the public to let them know if they spot anything.
“We’re looking for folks to report any sightings of wild pigs or pig activity, so tracks, wallows, and rubbing,” she said.
She added feral hogs can do a lot of damage—a point backed up by a researcher at the University of Saskatchewan who has been monitoring the spread of the animals on the Prairies.
“They destroy crops. They will eat just about anything, from mice to eggs from ground-nesting birds, and goslings and ducklings, all the way up to taking down and killing an adult white-tailed deer,” said professor Ryan Brook, with the College of Agriculture and Bioresources at the university.
“They can be very aggressive, they have razor-sharp tusks,” he told The Epoch Times. “In our crew, we’ve certainly had our challenges with them, and had a few close calls ... and they have the potential to spread diseases to humans, to pets, to wildlife, and livestock.”
Given what they’ve learned over the years, Mr. Brook said the concern about feral hogs in B.C. is well-placed.
“Any kind of domestic pig becomes feral pretty quickly,” he said. “Here in Saskatchewan, where we have extremely cold winters, there have been numerous sightings of pink pigs running around in the wild … along with wild boar type animals.”
He said escaped pigs can grow thick hair, and animals born in the wild may have tusks, although not as large as those on a true wild boar.
Mr. Brook said the Prairies represent a “cautionary tale” over what could happen in B.C. if escaped hogs are allowed to flourish unchecked in the wild.
He said in 2002, there were virtually no occurrences of wild hogs in Canada. But fast forward to the present, and that has changed dramatically.
“In the Prairie provinces, 2023 was by far the worst year we’ve ever had in terms of occurrences and overall distribution ... they continue to spread overall on the Canadian Prairies, out of control,” he said.
Mr. Brook said wild hogs are widespread across much of southern Saskatchewan, as well as parts of Alberta and Manitoba. Population densities may vary, but they are making their presence known.
“We have producers share photos and stories with us all the time of the damage that they do,” he said, adding that some years ago they examined a number of hog stomachs and found them full of canola—one of the Prairies’ most valuable crops.
“There’s no question they are feeding on crops,” he said.
The United States Department of Agriculture estimates wild hogs cause around US$2.5 billion a year in crop damage alone, he said. There are also reports of wild hogs in the United States feeding on young goats and sheep.
Mr. Brook said there are no reports of livestock depredation in Canada. But besides damaging crops, wild hogs in Canada have been known to harass livestock.
“There was a really kind of interesting video shot by a school bus driver in Saskatchewan here of a probably 400-pound wild pig chasing cattle in the field. … We’ve been hearing about harassment for probably 15 years now, where pigs come in and scare livestock away to the point that they have to move the watering and feeding area because the cattle won’t go back there,” he said, adding that costs producers both money and time.
He noted there are no firm estimates of feral hog populations in Canada, or the damage they are doing—mostly because there has not been enough research.
Hogs are also notoriously difficult to spot from the air—they can burrow under vegetation or snow, hide under trees, and are often nocturnal. Mr. Brook said an extensive network of trail cameras could be one way to come up with accurate estimates.
So while B.C. has no known established populations of wild hogs, Mr. Brook believes it is important they put in the effort to keep it that way.
“You have a very narrow window to find and remove them, not unlike cancer and not unlike a forest fire,” he said. “You either find it quickly and get it under control, or there’s a very high likelihood that it will very quickly grow rapidly, and then there is no chance of control.”
Ms. Hooper agrees, saying “prevention is the name of the game.”
“Once we have established populations of an invasive species,” she said, “then the economic costs and other costs go up considerably.”
