Farmscape for June 11, 2024
| Full Interview 8:14 | Listen  |
The General Manager of the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board says efforts to locate and eradicate wild boar have been effective in keeping the problem from spreading to new areas of the province. Saskatchewan’s Squeal on Pigs Campaign has heightened public awareness of the problems posed by feral pigs roaming loose in the landscape and drawn considerable media attention. Sask Pork General Manager Mark Ferguson says, while some sources have suggested the problem is widespread across the province, it appears the issue is mostly isolated to one or two locations from where pigs are already being removed.
Quote-Mark Ferguson-Saskatchewan Pork Development Board:
This is a problem that is man made. Wild boar were kept on farms here beginning in the 80s and 90s and eventually they became on the landscape because they either escaped or were released from the farm. The issue is, they’re a smart animal, they’re elusive and they like to live in remote areas with few humans around. The release or escape of these animals several decades ago introduced them into our wildlife in Saskatchewan. We do know that we get scattered reports of these animals every year through the province’s reporting hotline. We know that there are one or two spots in the province where there are sounders living and that’s were removal efforts are focussed.
We have a very difficult time locating wild boar and I think it’s because they are so elusive and reclusive. They tend to live in places where humans are not. We do think that the problem is likely a bit smaller than some reports have made it out to be.
There’s basically one or two targeted areas where we know them to live. Outside of that we really don’t hear much about wild boar.
Ferguson encourages anyone who suspects they have seen wild boar or evidence of them to call the Pig Spot hotline at 1-833-pig-spot or click the appropriate links on the Sask Pork web site.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca. Bruce Cochrane.
*Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers
