Feral hog population growing, with no simple solution
BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - The wild hog population has grown dramatically in the United States, increasing from about 2 million across 17 states in the early 1980s to nearly 7 million across 35 states in the last decade. Experts say the hogs destroy environments, cause injury, and spread disease.
“Some people call it ‘the pig bomb went off,’ and I think that term is really, really interesting,” said Texas A&M Agrilife Research Associate Professor John Tomecek. “We’ve had pigs forever.”
Pigs were brought to the Americas by European colonists and, from there, the population exploded.
Feral hogs are any pigs that have been released from human control. Their ability to adapt and reproduce quickly has made them a menace to ranches and suburban lawns alike. In fact, wild pigs have been listed as the 100 worst exotic invasive species in the world, causing an estimated $2.1 billion in yearly damage across the United States.
“We’ve learned more about the effects of feral hogs,” said Tomecek. “They affect the ability of cities to provide clean water, they cause safety issues in town where people have been attacked or chased by pigs. They spread diseases.”
Unfortunately, it’s not a problem with a simple solution.
“We can’t BBQ our way out of this problem, and that is the reality. Hunting alone cannot fix the feral hog problem,” said Tomecek.
While feral hogs have long been considered a rural problem, Tomecek says an attack in the city helped get the attention of elected officials in Texas.
“As soon as a favorite golf course in Austin got rooted up during the legislative session, it definitely curtailed relations and negotiations between both sides of the House,” he said. “That changed things, right? Folks said, ‘Well, what can we do about this?’”
Tomecek says it will take farmers, suburbanites, city dwellers, elected officials, and researchers coming together to control the hog population.
“The cost of doing nothing is very high,” he said.
Experts suggest wild hog populations would need to be reduced by more than half each year just to keep them at their current level. In Texas, population reduction remains at around 30% yearly.
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