Super Pig Invasion

Ever wonder what happens if animals not native to the land get let out into the field to be free? Well, farmers in Canada released 300 non-native pigs into the wild in 2001, which caused a disaster.

These pigs were bred in the 1980s when the pork market was very high. The wealthy wanted to introduce an exotic type of pork into the high-class restraints says The Guardian magazine. 

Kelsey Vlamis, from Business Insider, said, “Then the boar market peaked, collapsing in 2001, and many of the pigs were simply let go.” The farmers who had bred these pigs now had nothing to do with them, and it was just costing them money to continue to feed them. These farmers figured to let all of them wild and never thought a second about it. 

These animals are just about unstoppable. How a wildlife researcher and professor named Ryan Brooks explained these animals. “basically turbocharged this wild boar with all the things that make it a really successful invasive species”.

They are a cross between a wild boar and a domestic pig. They have the size and large appetite of a domestic pig, but the aggression and strength of wild boar. They grow up to 600 LBS and bread to survive the cold harsh winters. This enables them to live wherever they want and not be bothered by any climate per the Smithsonian magazine about super pigs.

The estimated amount of damage the pigs are projected to cause is $2.5 billion in damages to US agriculture each year per the USDA. These animals mainly terrorize the border of Canada and the US, although they have worked their way into the southern parts of America as well.  They eat and tear up crops, and fencing, and contaminate drinking sources for livestock. 

The USDA also hasn’t come up with a solution to this point. They said hunting these animals causes more issues in the long run. They get spooked then they run away tearing up lots of land, and overall move to a new area together wrecking the land there also. 

These animals are not known to the majority of the Timberlane community. All eight high school students were questioned by The Hoot if they had heard about the rising issue of the super pigs. All 8 of them didn’t know what I was talking about and didn’t see an issue with these pigs being in the wild after being explained. One student said, “ They are just like other wild pigs, I don’t see a huge issue with a different breed of pig in the wild.”