FROM THE STATE VET’S OFFICE
Feral Swine Going Hog Wild
Occasionally I write about tick diseases. I usually fit the comment into the article that I have never really known of a single redeeming quality of ticks. I would say the same thing about feral swine. I suppose it is all about perspective but from where I stand, the world would be no worse off if they were all suddenly abducted by aliens and gone. I know that we are concerned any time a species goes extinct, but I can’t think of any meaningful way most of us would miss the feral hogs if they just packed up and left. If you are into hunting feral swine, you may be in that small group of people who would miss them. I can cut you some slack, though, since I think you are trying to make the world better for the rest of us. According to the USDA, feral swine are not native to America. They were apparently brought here by explorers and settlers back in the 1500s. Then in the 1900s, the Russian and European wild boar was introduced 16
Cooperative Farming News
for the purpose of sport hunting. Like a lot of things that were done years ago like putting lead in paint, I don’t think the long-term implications were given much thought. So here we are a century later with an estimated population of six million feral hogs and we seem to have a situation on our hands. My specific concern as State Veterinarian is that these animals are a reservoir for disease that could impact the domestic livestock industry as well as humans. Five to 10% of feral swine are infected with Brucella suis. We have been free of Brucella suis in Alabama since the late 1900s. That was quite an accomplishment. And the way domestic swine are raised today, there is less opportunity for exposure to feral swine. However, with the growing number of people who want to raise their own food and go back to the way great grandpa did it with hogs on pasture, the opportunity for exposure increases.
