Treena Hein, Pig Progress, 30 June 2021, photo credit: USA Today
A new solution has been launched in Texas, USA, where the feral hog population has exceeded 2.6 million. Contraception through feed has to limit the growth of the wild pig numbers.
Across Europe, North America and elsewhere, wild hogs represent an enormous problem, causing damages to crops, negatively affecting wildlife and more. In Europe, wild pigs also continue to be a very serious factor in the spread of African Swine Fever.
Efforts to reduce wild pig populations all over the world have included targeted shooting and trapping, but these methods have had little effect. Populations of wild pigs continue to climb in places like Canada and Germany. In Texas, their numbers now exceed 2.6 million.
Female wild pigs can produce a new litter roughly every three months, and in the southern US, litters can reach up to 20 piglets.
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The South African Pork Producers’ Organisation (SAPPO) coordinates industry interventions and collaboratively manages risks in the value chain to enable the sustainability and profitability of pork producers in South Africa.
