California Wild Pigs Expand Range

February 21, 2007 — 

Rick Sweitzer, a wildlife ecologist at the University of North Dakota supported by the University of California Exotic/Invasive Pests and Diseases Research Program, has determined that the wild pig population in California is larger than previously thought and its range is expanding.

Sweitzer and his research team compiled a database of more than 70,000 wild pig harvest locations, which they used to determine the pace of range expansion by the species in California over the last 13 years. Preliminary results indicate they expanded their range by more than 7,000 square miles between 1992 and 2004.

Since 1956, the California Department of Fish and Game, has classified wild pigs as big game mammals; the goal is to use sport hunting to reduce their spread. "The problem is that more than 85 percent of the current statewide population of wild pigs is in areas where hunting access is limited, such as state and federal parks, reserves and natural areas, and private lands," says Sweitzer. "Many private landowners simply don't want people on their properties, which means that sport hunters can't harvest and reduce populations in the areas where most of the wild pigs live." Permits are also issued that allow park managers and other people to use traps and trained hunters to remove wild pigs.

Sweitzer is also conducting surveys to attempt to estimate the economic losses associated with the wild pigs. By establishing the economic losses, he hopes to encourage policy makers to consider other control measures.

Source:
The Western Farm Press,
February 19, 2007