Minnesota DNR Captures Feral Pigs
Feral pigs were captured by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in southern Minnesota late last month. Although Minnesota’s feral hog problems are mostly temporary loose pigs, according to the Minnesota DNR, the few adults and piglets found east of Blue Earth in Faribault County on Sept. 24 raise concerns for the No. 2 pig-producing state in the U.S.
The pigs escaped from a farm, with the owner not reporting their escape, DNR said. DNR information officer Dan Ruiter said the person who reported seeing the pigs did the right thing, as they helped keep a problem from potentially becoming a much larger issue. According to Minnesota law, it's illegal to possess, release or allow feral swine to run at large.
After the pigs were captured, they were then taken to DNR Fish and Wildlife division for testing, Bring Me the News reports.
Minnesota natural resource managers, feral swine experts, and hog farmers all fear repercussions and damages if the right steps aren’t taken to keep feral pigs from setting up shop in the state.
“They’re a threat to resources,” Eric Nelson, wildlife animal damage program supervisor at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, said in Minnesota Conservation Volunteer. “If you look to southern states, the damage that they can do is astronomic, not only to natural resources but to agricultural producers.”
Feral swine can transmit pathogens to domestic pigs and vector more than 20 diseases that scientists know of at this time. With the threat of African swine fever (ASF) looming nearby in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, experts say it’s more important than ever to control the feral pig population in the U.S.
“We don’t have ASF in the U.S., but everyone wants to be prepared if it does emerge,” Dale Nolte, program manager for the USDA APHIS National Feral Swine Damage Management Program, said in a Porkbusiness.com article. “Our group is charged with maintaining awareness of the wild pig population in the U.S. If we were to get ASF in our wild pig population, it would be a huge problem and make it harder to eliminate the disease.”
More from Farm Journal's PORK:
How Colorado Eliminated Feral Hogs
Feral Hog Stomachs Tell Story of Destruction
Monster-Sized Wild Pigs are on the Rise in Canada
