Public-private task force tries to assess state's wild hog problem

Wild hogs like these ones are causing problems in Pennsylvania.

University Park, Pa. -- State, federal and private groups are collaborating to assess the seriousness of Pennsylvania's wild pig situation this fall.

Starting in November, a team from the Wildlife Services Division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will collect feral hogs in three areas of the state by trapping and shooting, and Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture technicians will collect blood and tissue samples from the animals to be tested for infectious diseases. The effort is being funded by $60,000 in grants from the USDA and the Pennsylvania Pork Producers Council.

Samples will be tested by the Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostics Laboratory System, which includes labs at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture facility in Harrisburg, at Penn State's University Park campus and at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center.

In light of a recently released Pennsylvania Game Commission report documenting wild hogs living in 11 counties -- and breeding in at least two of those -- along with past evidence that they existed in four other counties, the state is at a crossroads with feral pigs, according to Dave Wolfgang, extension veterinarian in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. "We have been concerned for some time about the situation surrounding feral pigs in Pennsylvania," he said. "There is clear evidence that their population is growing, and if something is not done soon, we could have a situation similar to the one in the Southern states where habitat destruction by wild hogs is a huge problem."

Earlier this year, a Pennsylvania Feral Hog Task Force was formed that included, besides the state and federal departments of agriculture, PennAg Industries Association, the Game Commission, Penn State, the Pennsylvania Audubon Society and the Pork Producers Council. "The reason Pennsylvania's pork producers are so concerned is that feral pigs are reservoirs for diseases such as pseudorabies, swine brucellosis and trichinosis," Wolfgang explained. "Our animal agriculture people have worked hard to stamp out those diseases, but they could be reintroduced into domestic herds from wild pigs."

Some of these animal-health issues have implications for people, too. "Brucellosis makes pigs sick, but it can infect hunters dressing pigs," Wolfgang said. "These diseases are not much of a problem with commercial pork. One of the reasons we raise pork indoors in barns now is that when the pigs are outside grubbing around in dirt, they pick up parasites and diseases."

Ironically, one of the worries for wildlife officials is that Pennsylvania hunters will learn to like having wild pigs around. "In Florida, wild hogs are the no. 1 game species," says Harris Glass, state director of USDA Wildlife Services in Harrisburg. "They sell more licenses for hunting hogs than they do for deer. In the South, there is a whole culture built around hog hunting.

"If we get to that point in Pennsylvania, we are just not going to be able to stop it," Glass added. "Hog hunting is not really known here, but I grew up in Texas and down there on the hunting preserves, if you harvest a deer, you could go ahead and take a pig to go along with it. They are so numerous. I spent the last four years in Mississippi, and a lot of the folks down there enjoy running pigs with their dogs."

But where wild hogs are concerned, the tradeoffs for having another big game species are just not worth it, Glass contended. In Southern states, about half of the feral hogs tested have been positive for brucellosis and pseudorabies. "This is really a biosecurity issue," he said. "And wild hogs are so detrimental to the habitat. It would be really devastating to wildlife if these animals become established across Pennsylvania. In Texas, for example, damages caused by wild hogs run in the millions of dollars annually, and USDA has had to resort to aerial gunning to control the population."

What people don't need is another invasive species destroying habitat that native wildlife needs and depends on, Wolfgang maintained. "Feral hogs present danger to both Pennsylvania wildlife and livestock," he says. "Damage caused by these animals includes erosion from displacement of soil and native plant root structures, consumption and destruction of crops, and predation of livestock such as lambs, kid goats and calves, and ground-nesting birds."

The task force's early efforts are officially called "disease surveillance," and it is not clear what efforts might be made to eliminate feral pigs if disease is prevalent in tested animals. One of the factors complicating the control of wild hogs in Pennsylvania is that none of the regulatory agencies has statutory responsibility over them, Glass noted. "They are not considered a game species here," he said. "That's why the Game Commission is not responsible. Right now the hogs don't fall under the classification of wildlife, and it would take legislation to designate them wildlife."

Feral swine found in Pennsylvania are native to Europe and Asia and most have escaped from shooting preserves, according to the Game Commission. They can weigh more than 400 pounds, and sows can breed up to twice a year, producing from four to 13 piglets per litter. "It is very difficult to build a fence that can keep wild hogs in," Glass noted.

Although the hunting of wild hogs in Pennsylvania is unregulated -- meaning that there is no bag limit and they can be killed 365 days a year -- Game Commission spokesman Jerry Feaser urged hunters to act safely. "Be sure you have permission of the landowner to hunt, and, be certain the swine is wild and not domestic," he said. "We strongly recommend that wild-hog hunters wear fluorescent orange and abide by the rules that are in effect for any game species that are in season -- but we can't require it. They may not have a loaded gun in a vehicle."

Hunters who kill wild pigs should take precautions before butchering or dressing the carcasses, according to Wolfgang, who is not concerned about just Pennsylvania pigs. "I am also worried about Pennsylvania hunters going to places such as South Carolina, Texas or Georgia, where a lot of pigs have brucellosis or pseudorabies," he said. "We have a lot of hunters who go all over the world, and they need to be aware that wild hogs everywhere can carry infectious diseases. Eating wild-hog meat that is properly prepared is not a problem, but getting it to that point can be."

Catherine Cutter, associate professor of food science, who specializes in the food-safety aspects of processing meat, noted that hunters can be safe without going to a lot of trouble. She advised hunters to observe the following USDA recommendations when dressing and butchering wild/feral swine: wear disposable gloves; avoid direct contact with blood and reproductive organs; wash hands with soap and hot water immediately after handling the dressed swine (even if gloves are used); bury or burn remains from the swine and any gloves used; and thoroughly cook the meat.

Cutter also suggests that after processing, all knives and utensils be cleaned thoroughly with warm, soapy water, and then soaked for up to 30 minutes in a fresh solution of bleach and water (1/2 cup bleach per gallon of water).