Efforts to Control Feral Pigs In Saskatchewan Showing Signs of Success

The General Manager of Sask Pork reports efforts to bring populations of wild pigs under control in Saskatchewan are showing signs of success. Earlier this year the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture introduced enhanced measures to control feral pigs, including a moratorium on new commercial wild boar farms, developing regulations for licensing existing farms and enhancing surveillance and control while the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board launched a toll-free hot line to allow the public to report sightings of feral pigs.

Sask Pork General Manager Mark Ferguson says this issue is being taken very seriously.

Clip-Mark Ferguson-Saskatchewan Pork Development Board :

We know they're very smart animals and the one thing they're really good at is remaining hidden from people so the biggest issue we have in trapping and eradicating them is actually finding them. We do know that, over the years, there's been two pockets in the province where they've resided and ranged from. The first one has been the Moose Mountain region in southeast Saskatchewan and that has kind of been the historical place we know they've been.

They've had an eradication effort with hunt teams very active over the past two decades and they've dramatically reduced the population there. We understand there's actually very few to no sightings in that area in recent years so that's a success story.The other area that we know they exist in Saskatchewan is around the Saint Brieux-Lake Lenore area in northeastern Saskatchewan.

Eradication teams have been very active over the last five years trapping and removing wild pigs in this region and we understand that over 500 have been removed over the last two years so they've been successful in their efforts and their efforts are ongoing.

Ferguson says the public and outdoorsmen can report sightings of feral pigs by calling or texting the toll-free hot line at 1 833 PIG SPOT or by calling any Saskatchewan Crop Insurance office. He notes, Crop Insurance administers the feral wild boar program and will follow up on sightings to identify where the animals are and put together a plan to remove them.