Introduction

Landowner’s guide

All feral swine are members of the same biological species – Sus scrofa. However, feral swine are also referred to by different names such as wild boar, Eurasian wild boar, wild hogs, and wild pigs.

Pigs were first introduced to North America by Spanish explorers in the early 16th century. Most were allowed to range freely throughout forest, marsh, and field and were harvested for meat. In the early 1900s, the introduction of the Eurasian wild boar for sport hunting resulted in interbreeding with the free-ranging domestic pigs already present. Soon, the pig populations increased rapidly and caused economic and ecological damage across the Southeast.

As a result, free range farming practices were outlawed. Unclaimed free range populations spread across the United States, leading to the feral swine problem we face today.

Four biological factors are the main reasons for the rapid growth of feral swine populations:

· high reproductive potential,

· habitat generalization,

· wide range in diet, and

· low mortality rates.

Timeline of Feral swine in the united states

Timeline

Pigs were introduced

to North America by Spanish settlers

Free ranging pigs

are common with colonists who settled in Virginia and later South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia.

Free ranging

farming practices were common, allowing pigs to forage, excluding them from crops, and harvesting them for meat.

Wild boar is introduced

to North America for sport hunting, and interbreeding with free ranging domestic pigs occurs. Pig populations quickly spread and multiply, and free ranging practices become mostly illegal.

Widespread feral swine populations

cause ecologic and economic damage, and are a concern across the U.S.

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