pig problem
The pictures of thousand pound pigs from the South are missing the massive destruction they impact upon our ecosystem. So North Dakota would be better off without wild pigs. And we’re hoping this works.
Wild pig elimination under way
By RICHARD HINTON
Bismarck TribuneThe bait piles are out and the remote cameras are in place as an effort to eradicate wild pigs in the Turtle Mountains continues.
“We’re still in that mode of trying to determine locations, and we’re trying to get word out for landowners to contact us or Game and Fish if they see hogs,” Phil Mastrangelo, state director for USDA Wildlife Services, said Wednesday.
Whether stray domestic pigs, introduced Eurasian wild boars or hybrids, the feral pigs aren’t wanted in North Dakota, and officials in states coping with pig problems have told North Dakota to eliminate the pigs immediately or risk long-term problems with an uncontrollable population.
Problems with feral pigs range from their potential to transmit diseases to their rooting and wallowing that lead to soil erosion and degradation of water quality. The pigs also compete with native wildlife for food, destroy wildlife habitat, and prey on ground-nesting birds and small and young mammals. Wild pigs also are hardy, resilient and prolific.
Because the area is a patchwork of public, private and tribal land, Mastrangelo is continuing to talk to tribal officials of the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation about crews working on tribal lands.
There have been no reports of pigs on the reservation, however, Mastrangelo said.
Wildlife Services is spearheading the task force, which is made up of state and federal agencies: the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, North Dakota Department of Agriculture’s Board of Animal Health, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the University of North Dakota.
One wild-pig population in the Badlands already was hit this summer, and it is believed to have been eradicated.
Wildlife managers will trap the pigs and use agency sharpshooters to remove pigs once they are located.
“We will rely on reports from landowners. If they spot hogs, we will take action,” Mastrangelo said.
