Wild pigs cause significant damage to crops and the environment each year and can pose risks to native wildlife, livestock and human health and safety. Professor Mark Smith of Auburn University’s College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System said control and eradication measures need to be implemented immediately once wild pigs appear on a landowner’s property.
In 2018, Smith was appointed as a fellow by The Wildlife Society in recognition of his exceptional service to the profession. His specialty areas are wild pig damage management, game and nongame population and habitat management.
Q: Where are wild pigs most prevalent in North America? In Alabama?
Mark Smith: Wild pigs are a non-native species in North America. Free-ranging populations of wild pigs can be found in about 35 states and southern portions of Canada. They are most prevalent in the southeastern United States and California, with smaller, localized populations in other states. Wild pigs can be found throughout most of Alabama, with the greatest abundance in the southern half of the state. In the more northern counties of Alabama, wild pigs occur in smaller localized pockets all the way up to the Tennessee border. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has a good map showing wild pig locations across the U.S.