Study finds risk of wild pigs invading U.S. from Canada

Biologists are worried that wild pigs in Canada could cross the border into the northern U.S.

Lots of U.S. states have issues with feral swine, but northern states have been an exception. But a recent study in Biological Invasions warned of a “high potential” for pigs to move from western Canada “into the currently wild pig-free northern U.S. states.”

The pigs include wild boars (Sus scrofa) introduced to Canada in the 1980s for meat and hunting, domestic swine (S.s. domesticus) and hybrids of the two, according to the Canadian Council on Invasive Species.

Wild pigs can wreak havoc on native landscapes and agricultural lands, prompting officials in Canada to try to control their populations.

The research “highlights a need for monitoring and science-based response strategies for likely southward spread of this invasive species to prevent or reduce potential crop damage, risks to native species, and disease transmission to humans, pets, livestock and wildlife.

Read the study at Biological Invasions.