You might think America’s biggest invasive species is a disease spread around by humans or an insect that is killing a large portion of our wildlife, but you would be very far from the truth. Starting in 2001, “super pigs” have grown to become an ecological as well as economic problem for the United States.
“Super pigs” are a mix between wild boars and domesticated pigs. Their wild boar side has made them extremely aggressive while their domesticated side has made them extremely fertile. This problem of “super pigs” came from Canada, when in 2001 the swine market declined rapidly, making many farmers fear wasting money on pigs that were not going to make them any. Many of them decided to release the pigs by simply cutting holes in their fences and letting them roam into the Canadian wilderness. The pigs rapidly adjusted to harsh environments of the forests and became very good survivalists. These pigs began to migrate towards the United States, crossing the border into states like Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana.
“Super pigs” have raised a large economic problem in the United States. As Ryan Brook, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan states, they are “the most invasive animal on the planet” and are an “ecological train wreck.” Their ability to survive harsh environments makes their ability to spread disease more prevalent. The main disease that they are spreading to the hog farms across the United States and Canada is African swine fever. Alongside this, their ability to reproduce makes them very difficult to get rid of. Brooks claims that “65% or more of a wild pig population could be killed every year and [the population] will still increase.” On average, each pig can have 12 piglets a year.
Killing “super pigs” might be the most reasonable theory to get rid of them, but that has been proven to be wildly ineffective. Success rate for killing these pigs has only been around 2-3%. While trying to hunt and kill these pigs, they have become increasing more adapt to surviving hunters’ tactics. They have become more cautious around urban settlements and have even become nocturnal to avoid hunters. Despite this, the Missouri Feral Hog Elimination Party has killed 9,857 “super pigs” since 2021. Many people believe that there is still hope to get rid of this highly invasive species. The total number of pigs killed since 2016 has been more than 54,000.
These pigs have created a large problem in the US agriculture scene. More than $2.5 billion in damage to US crops every year has been caused by “super pigs.” They eat farmers’ crops, destroy trees, and pollute water with swine diseases. In 2019, a woman was killed by these wild pigs. Micheal Marlow, assistant program manager for the Department of Agriculture, has called them “a human health and safety risk.” National Geographic has said that they have the power to create “a novel influenza virus.” Many people still are not sure what to do about the “super pig” problem. For now, we can only hope that killing a vast majority of them will solve this problem, but as many people have pointed out, this plan is quickly falling apart.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/super-pigs-canada-invading-america/
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/20/us-threat-canada-super-pig-boar