Destructive, invasive wild pigs in Alberta have breached national park boundary for 1st time

[Spazito]

One of the most destructive and rapidly spreading invasive species on the continent has been found for the first time in a Canadian national park.

Wild pigs, which tear up landscapes and eat everything from roots to bird eggs to deer, are regularly present in Elk Island National Park — the only fully fenced national park, located about 40 kilometres east of Edmonton, says Parks Canada.

"Public sightings and video sightings provided by landowners confirm that there is at least one sounder (a sow and piglets) in the region that is known to periodically come into the park," spokesperson Janelle Verbruggen said.

snip

Wild pigs were brought to Saskatchewan and Alberta in the 1990s to help farms diversify. Some escaped.

In Alberta, pigs have been spotted in 28 counties, said Perry Abramenko, who runs the Alberta government's pig removal program.

more

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-wild-pigs-breached-park-boundary-1.6207379

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I had no idea we had wild pigs in Canada nevermind right in my own province.

[Sneederbunk]

1. US will be sending National Guard to Alberta border.

[Spazito]

2. LOL!

[dutch777]

15. See YouTube for tons of wild hog shooting videos. May be the one gun thing I generally approve of

The number of pigs is astounding. We went to a state park in Fl a few years ago and much of the park had been seriously dug up by the pigs and they had no fear of humans. As a matter of fact my wife thought they were menacing.

[msongs]

3. maybe some wolf packs would take care of that. got any in alberta? nt

[Spazito]

5. We have a healthy wolf population here...

approx. 7000 according to the government so maybe, over time, they can reduce the wild boar/pig population. It seems the wildlife experts don't have an accurate number as to how many of them are here so it's hard to know if the wolves have had any effect on the size of the herds.

[Sneederbunk]

6. Or hunters with some good dogs.

[Jilly_in_VA]

4. There ought to be

open season on these damn things EVERYWHERE! The are a fcuking nuisance in east Tennessee, particularly in the mountains around the Cherokee National Forest and GSMNP. The bears get some of them up there but not enough. EVERYONE hates them. They're mean and dangerous and tear up everything in sight. Most farmers around the area will shoot them on sight, law or no law.

[Spazito]

7. Your description of them mirrors everything I've heard or read about them...

They are very destructive and I was quite shocked to read this article as I had no idea there were any in Canada never mind deliberately imported here in the 70s by farmers for diversity (bad decision, imo).

[Jilly_in_VA]

9. The ones in Tennessee

are apparently descended from pigs that escaped farms way back when---like 18th-early 19th century. Pigs, whatever else you may think of them, are very smart animals. These things reverted to the wild and basically developed the old characteristics. They don't even look like modern pigs. (Old time pigs didn't either.) As one of my home health patients once said when describing a boar hunt he'd been on as a younger man, "Them things is ugly and evil!"

[Spazito]

12. I'm with your patient in their description...

from all the pictures I've seen they are very ugly and look dangerous as well.

[2naSalit]

11. I am surprised as well.

They have been a concern in the northern Rockies this past decade or so because they will get here eventually if they are not here already.

I had no idea that farmers brought them there in the 90s. I agree with you on the bad idea thing. There's lots of info and video of the problems they create in places like Texas. I hope they can control that situation quickly.

If ever there were a legitimate use for gun humpers...

[Spazito]

13. Alberta has no problem doing culls although they continue to be ...

controversial depending on what is being hunted. It looks like hunting them is okay from what I read on the government site:

Can I hunt wild boar?

People who want to help remove pests
from property are allowed to do so, and
there is no licence, season, or limits for wild
boar at-large. Be aware that general laws
around firearms and trespassing apply and
must be followed. Contact your local police
or Fish and Wildlife Office for more
information.

Wild Boar At Large: An invasive pest in Alberta
To report wild boar
at-large or for more
information, please call
toll-free in Alberta.
310-FARM (3276)
agriculture.alberta.ca/


What should I do
if I have wild boar
on my land?

Tracks in the snow or mud, or trails of
groups (“sounders”) of boar
Signs of boar digging or rolling around
(rooting and wallowing)
Signs of boar eating your livestock feed
Boar droppings
Non-professional hunting of wild boar
at-large can actually make it harder for
organized control efforts. Boar are very
smart! Hunting can make them learn
quickly to avoid humans, and this can
make the problems worse.

https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/3939167d-8266-4dfe-88a6-195527f6de6c/resource/3acce27c-8ff4-4bac-8182-894a0cc3b311/download/wildboar-fact-sheet-print.pdf

[2naSalit]

16. In Texas...

They made it a business with guided hunts. There are also people who armor up big fighting dogs and send them out to hunt them as well. It's something I would distance myself from if it were going on around me.

[Spazito]

17. Wow....

I had hoped our government would take responsibility for removing them on public land instead of allowing what seems to be a free-for-all. I certainly support private property owners being allowed to shoot them but not using fighting dogs, that seems unnecessarily cruel for both animals, imo.

[2naSalit]

18. Yeah, the dog thing's not good in my book.

But the hogs/pigs are a very big problem that should be more widely known. When people disappear in the woods where these animals are might have fallen prey to them.

[Jilly_in_VA]

14. They're very bad

in both Texas and Arkansas. Also in Puerto Rico. The ones in Puerto Rico can't even be eaten when they're killed because they have some kind of disease (a parasite, not trichinosis, I think). I believe the Texas ones can become BBQ.

[Quakerfriend]

10. So destructive and they multiply quickly!

There is one thing that can get rid of them completely but, it’s use is controversial- Coumadin.