TWS Comments on Feral Swine Environmental Impact

The Wildlife Society’s Wildlife Damage Management Working Group has submitted comments to APHIS’s environmental impact statement on feral swine damage management.

Feral swine are a destructive invasive species, which poses a significant threat to natural systems. Feral swine are members of the domestic pig family, which is native to Europe and Asia. The species predates on small mammals, ground-nesting songbirds, and reptiles, in addition to acting as a nest predator for endangered sea turtles and game species like bobwhite quail. Trampling and rooting by feral swine can vastly affect plant communities in areas they have invaded. They can also cause significant economic damage in agricultural landscapes through crop destruction and pose a disease risk to livestock and pets.

The working group, which is composed of experts in wildlife damage, disease, and population management experts, commented on proposed measures of managing feral swine in order to best control populations and prevent new populations from establishing.

TWS has released a Position Statement on feral swine in North America.