Feral pigs have become a growing concern in Saskatchewan. Wild boar made their way into Saskatchewan in the late 1970s as domestic livestock, and over time many escaped and reproduced at a rapid pace. This invasive species now roams freely, with Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) reporting over 60 rural municipalities in southern Saskatchewan suffering from overpopulated boars.
“To this day, wild boar have free reign of rural Saskatchewan land with no predators keeping the population in check,” said Ray Orb, SARM President in a recent release.
“Each year, the risk of transferable disease grows between domestic hogs. We can’t ignore the damaging financial and environmental impact wild boars leave in their wake any longer.”
The issue is being recognized by others too. The Westman Naturalists hosted University of Saskatchewan Prof. Ryan Brook on Feb. 18 for a special Zoom talk about the potential environmental devastation posed by the spread of invasive wild pig species in Manitoba, detailed a recent Brandon Sun article.
During the webinar, ‘Ecology of Invasive Wild Pigs on the Canadian Prairie,’ Brook provided insights into his research of tracking the rapid spread of invasive wild pigs in Spruce Woods and across Canada.
According to the Sun article he described wild pigs as “highly invasive,” free-ranging animals that include wild boar, hybrids or wild boar-domestic pigs, pot-bellied pigs and feral domestic pigs.
“There are no native pigs in Canada, so anything you see running around that looks like a pig and oinks like a pig is indeed introduced, and indeed invasive,” Brook said.
The SARM release went on to explain, boars are notoriously intelligent and reckless as they rifle through crops, golf courses, and native land.
Full-grown animals can be over 200 pounds, are fast, and have sharp tusks.
These elusive, nocturnal animals easily withstand Saskatchewan’s freezing temperatures.
Even after the drought issues facing many producers in 2021, crop and land destruction from wild boar is another area of concern.
Additionally, the risk grows of transferable disease between domestic hogs with their population increase. They are also potential reservoirs for livestock diseases such as African swine fever, a federally reportable disease that is not yet present in North America but is a serious threat to the Canadian pork industry.
While African Swine Fever has not yet been reported in North America, it remains a serious threat to the Canadian Pork industry. In recent months it has been found in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Europe.
At the industry’s height, Statistics Canada reported 500 farms and more than 32,000 animals were in the country, with many located in the Prairies, reports the Brandon Sun.
“A lot of work, time and energy were put into bringing these wild boar, domestic wild boar, to be raised on primarily meat farms,” Brook said in the article.
“Manitoba did ban these quite some time ago, but other provinces have had and still have these so-called high fence shoot operations.”
The boars were imported from Europe and raised on farms, but the market never really took off, and the growth of the industry proved to be unsustainable.
The first documented cases of pigs escaping were recorded in 1995. The animals finding their way into the wild was magnified in 2001 when the wild boar market peaked, and many farmers cut the fence and let them go assuming they would be unable to survive the harsh Prairie winters.
“We’ve documented cases all across Canada of cutting fences and letting dozens and in some cases more than 200 at a time-released out onto the landscape,” Brook said in the Sun. “If you ever do have one cross your path, you know for sure that it came from a farm.”
There has been an exponential increase in wild pigs. They first became visible around 2010 and have continued to spread. There were less than 500 reported in 2010, but by 2020 reported sightings had increased to more than 2,000.
In Canada, 58 per cent of occurrences of wild pigs have been reported in the last five years, Brook added, noting a proper count of the animals has not yet been undertaken in Canada.
The highest reported pig counts are in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, with the greatest number of wild pigs located along the provinces’ borders.
In 2016 Wildlife Regulations were amended to allow hunters the opportunity to hunt feral wild boars year-round without a license.
SARM was happy with this policy change but SARM members have been calling for moratoriums on wild boar farming since 2009.
“With the wild boar population continuing to spread, is it time to put those moratoriums in place so the problem doesn’t get any worse?” offered Orb.
“Wild boar are difficult to hunt; it takes many hours and significant effort to track these animals. The time is imminent for a collaborative, long-term solution to be realized with our provincial government.”
The province appears to have been listening as the Government of Saskatchewan recently announced it is taking steps to enhance and broaden the regulation, monitoring and control of wild boar and feral pigs in the province.
In a provincial government release the Ministry of Agriculture noted it is developing regulations for licensing existing commercial wild boar farms and imposing a moratorium on any new farms.
Regulations for wild boar/feral pigs will also be developed under The Pest Control Act, which would specify the various monitoring and control efforts as well as public obligations to report.
Additionally, annual funding for the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation (SCIC) Feral Wild Boar Control Program for surveillance and eradication efforts in the province is being doubled to $200,000.
“Increasing feral pig surveillance and eradication efforts, along with declaring them a regulated pest, are proactive measures to help ensure the health of both the agriculture industry and the natural environment in Saskatchewan,” Agriculture Minister David Marit said in the provincial release. “These are substantial steps that improve risk management and protect the resilience and security of our agriculture industry, which is a critical component of our provincial economy.”
Sask Pork is applauding new measures brought forward by the Government of Saskatchewan to regulate, monitor and control wild boar and feral pigs in the province.
“We are delighted with the new measures being brought forward by the Government of Saskatchewan,” said Sask Pork Board Chair Toby Tschetter. “Wild boar and feral pigs are not native to Saskatchewan and are considered an invasive species. In addition to damaging private property, they pose a significant threat to Saskatchewan’s hog industry as they can carry serious disease, such as African Swine Fever. These important new regulations will help protect the provincial hog industry and help us keep our food supply secure. We encourage farmers, ranchers, and the public to use the wild boar reporting services as much as possible.”
Action has been taken in other jurisdictions too.
Wild boars are officially banned from the County of Grande Prairie in Alberta county council decided in 2020, according to an article posted at www.sasktoday.ca
A public hearing was held on tabled amendments to the county’s Land Use Bylaw prohibiting the creatures.
“The boars can be quite damaging to local ecology and agricultural operations, and there’s been some significant impacts from wild boars in other parts of Canada,” said Nick Lapp, county planning director in the article.
Wild boar have also been cited as a threat to Riding Mountain National Park.
A November 2021 report in the Brandon Sun cited feral boars are becoming an increasing menace on the Prairies, and one of Canada’s leading hog researchers believes the national park could see the invasive species soon appear within the borders of the park.
The University of Saskatchewan’s Ryan Brook said wild boars have the potential to transform and devastate the ecosystem of the park.
“We often refer to them as ecological train wrecks, but they’re agricultural train wrecks as well,” Brook said in the article posted at sasktoday.ca
“They are the worst invasive large mammal on the planet and they are the most successful invasive large mammal on the planet.”
Southwestern Manitoba is no stranger to the invasive species — Spruce Woods Provincial Park has been the epicentre of wild boars for several years and is home to the biggest population of feral pigs in the province.
Brook compiled a list of potential areas of risk due to the invasive species, naming Riding Mountain National Park the second most at-risk area in Canada.
“Riding Mountain has wolves, coyotes, moose, elk, deer and all of the species that are iconic for Canada,” Brook said in the Sun story. “Pigs put all of that at risk.”
The Manitoba Pork Council to show how big a problem this is in the province has as their AGM keynote topic on April 6 ‘Invasive wild pigs: Global, National and Manitoban Perspectives’ by Dr. Ryan Brook University of Saskatchewan Department of Animal and Poultry Science. Dr. Brook is native to Manitoba and moved to Saskatchewan.
In Saskatchewan, the SCIC and the Ministry of Agriculture work closely with the public, producer associations like Sask Pork, and rural municipalities to monitor and deal with feral pigs in the province. This issue is among various areas of mutual interest and cooperation between the province and the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) which recently requested a collaborative, long-term solution to the wild boar/feral pigs issue in Saskatchewan.
All wild boar/feral pig sightings should be reported immediately by contacting a local SCIC office or calling 1-888-935-0000 (toll-free), as well Sask Pork operates the 1-883-PIG-SPOT hotline. •
— By Calvin Daniels
As this article was being paginated on the page, I was actively listening into a talk radio show on 630 Ched hosted by Shaye Ganam. Today’s topic – wild pig problem.
He was joined by Dr. Mathieu Pruvot, professor of veterinary medicine at University of Calgary. Dr. Pruvot shared some interesting statistics, including that as of right now 1/3 of all rural municipalities in Alberta currently have wild pigs, and a much scarier number is 80% of all rural municipalities in Saskatchewan have wild pigs. Our sector of course is more familiar with the topic but some interesting questions and comments.
One caller shared that his neighbor years ago had some wild pigs, he couldn’t keep them in. Broke out of every pen every fence – now in the wild. What started in the 80s’ as a farm diversification plan has gone wrong.
I have heard this statement before, Wild pigs are the most succesful invasive mammals in the world. Shaye repeated it. Again wild pigs is a topic on many peoples minds right now, along with potential disease they could carry with them, and damage they can cause.
Alberta Pork was acknowledged for their part helping with the Squeal On Pigs campaign to address the wild boar problem . •
Laurie Brandly
