An invasive species is threatening crops, waterways and small animals in the area. 

While many may have heard about parts of the United States being overrun by herds of wild boars, some would be surprised to find out that central Alberta is a hotspot for the destructive hogs as well. 

Introduced in the 80s and 90s, the boars originally were intended to help diversify Alberta’s agriculture. The boars were meant for meat or hunting farms where people could hunt them in an enclosed area. 

“In doing so, we bred this wild animal with domesticated pigs and created this mega invasive species that has all of the traits of both. So it’s a wild animal, but it breeds really fast, is really big and has lots of offspring,” said Megan Evans, executive director with the Alberta Invasive Species Council. 

Wild boars multiply quickly, with one pig producing three litters a year with up to six piglets. 

Over the years, the highly intelligent boars managed to escaped their enclosures, some intentionally released by farmers no longer interested in caring for the animals. The population since then has rapidly increased, prompting the provincial government to spread more awareness about the issue. 

“These things are considered to be one of the most damaging invasive species in North America and the most damaging invasive mammal in the world. They can destroy crops and they can do that either by eating the crops, [or] turning over the vegetation to find roots as well as insects for food,” said Evans.  

Apart from damaging crops, the boars are also notorious for contaminating waterways and will eat small animals like birds who nest on the ground. There have also been reports of the boars eating smaller livestock like foals and goats.

“The real issue and the real risk associated with them is the threat of disease transfer. We know that they can host up to 89 different diseases that can be transmitted to humans, wildlife and livestock, and some of those are what we call reportable diseases; an example of that would be foot-and-mouth disease. So, an outbreak of the foot-and-mouth disease would cause a complete and immediate closure of Alberta’s beef and pork exports,” Evans added. 

Evans added outbreaks in domesticated animals are relatively easy to contain, but it becomes extremely difficult to control when diseases spread to wild populations. 

The regions surrounding Edmonton are a hotspot for the boars, with sightings of the critters reported throughout Sturgeon County, Lamont County and Strathcona County. However, Evans noted the highest population of the boars appears to be Woodlands County, northwest of Edmonton. 

The government is now encouraging folks to “squeal on pigs” with their new campaign. Evans said Albertans should report any signs or sightings of the boars and added many people unaware of the boar issue might write off crop damage as other factors.  

A bounty program to help curb the spread of the hogs was once upon a time encouraged to help with the issue, and residents could receive $50 for bringing a set of wild boar ears to their local county office. However, the intelligent pigs learned to avoid bounty hunters by becoming nocturnal or dispersing over large distances, and the province no longer recommends the tactic.  

“Alberta Agriculture and Forestry and Alberta Pork have teamed up in a beautiful collaboration to implement a wild boar at large eradication. These guys are tracking them across the province; they use drones, trail cameras and reports from the public (which is where our campaign comes in) to find out where they are. Then they go in and remove entire groups of wild boar at large from the landscape, we have these corral traps where they set up, and they’ve got remote cameras, and then they wait until all the animals are inside the trap.” 

Evans added the Invasive Species Council was very optimistic about the current eradication efforts. However, she did add that reporting sightings of the boars are crucial to the program's success. 

More information about wild boars can be found here. To report any signs or sightings, you can call 310-FARM or email AF.wildboar@gov.ab.ca. 

Wild Boar MapMap Courtesy: FortSaskOnline

Information provided by FortSaskOnline