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By Alice McFarlane
To help address the growing ecological and agricultural threat posed by invasive wild pigs, Canada is launching of a new website.
Wild Pigs Canada is a new online hub developed by Invasives Canada and Animal Health Canada in collaboration with the Invasive Wild Pig Leadership Group. The website offers a central source for tools, information, and resources to address the threat of invasive wild pigs.
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Dr. Leigh Rosengren, industry co-chair on the Animal Health board of directors, said the site will help the public and interest groups identify and report wild pigs, understand their impacts in Canada, and stay up to date on current initiatives designed to help tackle the problem.
“Animal Health Canada is proud to be a collaborator on the new Wild Pigs Canada website that shares information to support the prevention, management, and removal of invasive wild pigs from the Canadian landscape,” Rosengren said.
Invasive wild pigs are uncontained pigs that are not under human control. They are adaptable, elusive and increasingly widespread in Canada. The animals destroy crops, damage natural habitats and pose threats to native wildlife, livestock, pets, people and ways of life. They can also spread or be a reservoir for diseases such as African swine fever.
African swine fever is a foreign animal disease of particular concern that is not yet in Canada. If introduced, wild pigs could rapidly spread the disease, with devastating impacts on domestic pigs, the swine industry and international trade.
In Canada, invasive wild pigs can be found in any province and territory, but the only known self-sustaining, established populations exist in parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Matt DeMille, executive director of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, said the website brings it all together.
“Whether you’re a farmer, hunter, hiker, or just someone who cares about our natural landscape, you’ll find everything you need to know about wild pigs and how to report them in one place,” DeMille said. “Remember, people on the land and out in nature are our first line of defense against invasive species like wild pigs.”
