The federal government is injecting millions of dollars into efforts to combat feral hogs – and it’s considering spending even more in the coming years. The problem has grown for decades, but our research has found that a recently revived federal effort offers the potential for bringing the hogs under control.
Feral swine roam in 35 states, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The most recent population figures, from 2016, estimated that 7 million feral pigs were loose in the nation then. That number may be much higher today: Feral hogs breed year-round and each year can produce up to two litters of four to 12 piglets per litter. Feral hog populations have been estimated to be able to double in just four months.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that wild pigs do between US$2.5 billion and $3.4 billion in property damage each year. At least $800 million of that is destruction of crops.
Beyond crops, feral hogs spread disease to livestock, damage farm infrastructure such as fences and roads needed for agricultural production, destroy recreational parks and cause extensive environmental damage to wildlife habitats, water quality and plant ecosystems.
They’re hard to control because feral hogs roam across large areas of privately owned land. If neighboring landowners don’t work together, the hogs just move rather than being killed or contained. Basic economic theory says landowners would wait for others to spend the time, money and energy to control hogs – which means nobody does, and the problems grow.
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