The Manitoba Pork Council doesn’t want the public to be shy when it comes to reporting the warning signs of wild pigs.
The council, with support from the provincial and federal government, has become the latest to launch a Squeal on Pigs campaign, echoing similar programs in Montana, Alberta, Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
Launched May 9, the project creates a centralized channel for the public to report wild pigs, as well as providing information on the invasive species, their impact, and identifying signs to watch for.
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Why it matters: Infamous for ecological and agricultural damage in the southern U.S. — to an estimated total of US$1.5 billion in damage each year — Canada’s exploding wild pig population has raised increasing alarm.
The province is at an “ecological and environmental crossroads” on the wild pig issue, according to Dr. Wayne Lees, former chief veterinary officer for the province and co-ordinator of the Manitoba Invasive Swine Eradication Project.
“Part of the reason for launching the campaign is to raise awareness in Manitoba about the wild pig issue and try to gain more information about where these wild pigs are located,” he said.
The eradication project was announced in early 2022 and includes the Squeal on Pigs campaign under its umbrella.
Wild pigs have garnered particular concern from the ag industry, given potential crop loss, field and pasture rooting damage and, in the case of the pork sector, disease transmission.
“Wild pigs are vectors for dozens of diseases, including those that would have a devastating impact on domestic pigs. We cannot allow wild pigs to gain a further foothold in our province and put not only our provincial hog sector at risk, but our provincial economy at risk as well,” Manitoba Pork Council chair Rick Préjet said.
Last year, the province confirmed that it was looking at Squeal on Pigs, following the launch of an international wild swine working group in 2020, which highlighted the program in other jurisdictions.
The spread of the invasive species in Manitoba has gained attention in recent years, driven by work such as the Canadian Wild Pig Research Project. That initiative, spearheaded by the University of Saskatchewan’s Ryan Brook, has sought to map wild pig range and behaviour across the country.
According to the project’s mapping, most municipalities in southwestern Manitoba had, at some point, shown signs of wild pigs, while no major geographic region could claim to have never had an incursion of the animals. Spruce Woods Provincial Park is considered the province’s main hot zone, with 96 per cent of all reports stemming from the region.
There is an active eradication program in that hot zone, according to Lees.
His program has drawn from Brook’s data, Lees said, but added that he hopes the Squeal on Pigs campaign will add a more current, rather than historical, overview of wild pig populations and distribution.
“If we’re going to mount an eradication campaign, we’re going to have to have up-to-date information in terms of where people are seeing these pigs now,” Lees said.
Eradication, however, is easier said than done. In 2019, the pork council launched a volunteer-based control program in western Manitoba, but found that the labour and resources needed outstripped what could be brought to bear at that time. Similar programs were supported in following years.
Experts have widely noted the difficulties of wild pig control, with the animals notoriously elusive, hard to trap, quick to adapt, and quick to reproduce. Hunting, likewise, has been met by skepticism from experts, who warn that hunting may only scatter groups of pigs and ultimately spread the problem. “We’re looking to use the lessons that we learn from this project to expand the control and eradication efforts through the rest of the province,” Lees said.
A website and toll-free phone line have been launched as part of Manitoba’s Squeal on Pigs efforts. The public can report sightings at squealonpigsmb.org or 1-833-SPOT-PIG (1-833-776-8744).
