The General Manager for Sask Pork is pleased to see the Provincial Government tighten the regulations around wild boar/feral pigs.
Premier Scott Moe announced the move during SARM's Annual Convention including plans to name wild boars as a regulated pest, giving the province and municipalities more power to deal with the animals.
Mark Ferguson says we know there are wild boar in the province, the only reason they exist here in the wild is they either were released or escaped from a wild boar farm.
"Wild boar is a huge problem, not just in North America, but also across the world. The damage to property, and also the fact that they can be a reservoir for swine disease and make it virtually impossible to eradicate diseases is something that's hugely important, and we've seen in Europe with African swine fever. It's wise to get ahead of this issue before it becomes a larger issue here in our province."
Ferguson notes the province, as well as putting in place various monitoring and control efforts, is also making it a public obligation to report any sightings of wild boar.
"The biggest contribution the public can make is to report any sightings of wild boar that they see. Crop insurance takes reports at all of their offices, and we also operate a 1-833- pigs-spot (1-833-744-7768) hotline. So even if you're not sure exactly what you saw, it could be important in locating a new group. So once there are enough sightings in a particular area, it helps us to understand where these animals are currently, and how to allocate resources to remove them."
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