Landowner’s Guide
Disease Risk
Along with physical destruction that feral swine are well known for, there are many feral swine diseases of interest to hunters, landowners, farmers and ranchers. Feral swine are known to carry or transmit at least 30 diseases (viral and bacterial) as well as host a minimum of 37 parasites that can affect humans, pets, wildlife or other livestock. Feral swine present a significant risk to the domestic pig population and pork industry. Introduction of certain diseases into the wild or domestic pig population would have severe economic consequences due to rapid and high pig mortality, loss of domestic and export markets for pork and pork products and quarantine regulations. Costs to quarantine herds, monitor disease progression, and treat infected animals would amount to many billions of dollars.
Reportable diseases are considered to be of significant public health importance and are required to be reported whey they are diagnosed. Some common reportable diseases associated with wild pigs include: brucellosis, leptospirosis, trichinellosis, and possibly others.
Where feral swine and livestock interact, the best means of disease prevention is feral swine population control and exclusion of feral swine from feeding and watering areas. The illegal translocation of feral swine can spread these diseases to both livestock and humans.
Zoonotic Diseases
A zoonotic disease is an animal borne disease that can be contracted by humans. Most of the zoonotic pathogens in feral swine are transmitted to humans when they are cleaning (field dressing) feral swine or through consumption of undercooked meat or pork products.
Animal/Livestock Transmitted Diseases
A major concern in the livestock industry is the risk of diseases spreading from feral swine to livestock. While there are several diseases that are swine specific, there are others that can be contracted by both livestock and wildlife species. Transmission of these diseases occurs via contamination of water sources, contamination of feed troughs, and direct contact with infected animals.
Disease Prevention
Follow these simple measures to avoid infection when handling or field dressing feral swine:
Wear latex or nitrile gloves; pathogens can enter the body through cuts on hands or torn cuticles.
Avoid splashing body fluids into your eyes or mouth.
Wash your hands thoroughly after field dressing and processing meat, even if you wear gloves.
Thoroughly clean and disinfect work areas and tools used to dress and butcher feral swine.
Dispose of animal remains, used gloves, and other materials properly. Animal remains should not be left for scavengers, nor should they be fed to dogs. Depending upon your jurisdiction, several methods of appropriate disposal may be considered. Check with your local health department or state wildlife agency.
Follow correct refrigeration, freezing, and cooking methods. Freezing to 0°F will render bacteria inactive but will not destroy them; once thawed, bacteria can again become active. Also, do not rely on home freezing to destroy Trichina and other parasites. Thorough cooking will destroy all parasites and kill bacteria. Cook feral swine meat to an internal temperature of 165°F to 170°F.